Lurking Shadows
by Merisca
Summary: Didn't like the ending of Daylighters? You weren't really satisfied? Well, me neither. If there was a book number 16, this is how I imagine it. Eve and Michael are married, so is Claire and Shane. They feel like they've finally found their place in Morganville, but just as they think the peace has come, some new creatures shows up on the street of Morganville.
1. Chapter 1

**Do you think the ending of Daylighters was boring and not the least what you expected? You're not happy with Morganville Vampires ending at all? Well, me neither. That's why I'm writing this Fanfiction now. It will contain spoiler for Daylighters, so unless you want to spoil it for yourself, you better not read it. **

I own nothing.

1

Claire

She woke up in the middle of the night all sweaty and terrified. She was breathing so hard that her chest burned. The urge to scream was incredibly big, and she didn't think she would be able to resist it for long. She felt the bed move a little when her husband, Shane, sat up and murmured something. 'Hey, are you okay, Claire?' he asked and placed a protective arm around her. She took another deep breath, focusing on her hands. They felt cold and wet, just as the rest of her body. Shane was still looking at her with his worried, chocolate brown eyes and waiting for her to answer his question. 'Yes,' she lied and nodded slightly. He let out a sigh and hugged her. She snuggled up to him placing her hands on his chest, making him flinch. 'Geez, you're cold as ice,' he remarked. She knew she was cold. She felt like a living ice tap. Shane and the sheet's warmth, combined, made her feel a little better though. She hated nightmares. Especially those who made her wake up with the feeling of being chased. Luckily Shane had been in bed with her. If not, she had probably started screaming and woken up all of them anyway. After they had gotten married, they had been sleeping in the same bed almost every night. It was weirdly comfortable to just cuddle up to each other and fall asleep nestled in each other's arms. It took Shane less than 2 minutes to fall asleep again. Being the considerate boyfriend he is, he also started snoring. She didn't want to wake him up to make him stop, because she wasn't going back to sleep anyway. And he was adorable when he slept. Like seriously, the cutest thing on Earth. Searching the room for something to wear, she carefully got out of the bed. She settled with a clean pair of jeans and a pink singlet with a white skull on it. Eve had told her she would suit it.

It was still 3 hours until sunrise, 6 until she had to go to work. She suddenly regretted that she had left her room and Shane. How was she going to spend the time? She was just about to sit down to think about it over a cup of coffee when she heard someone knocking on the door. Hard. Probably some mislead vampire, searching for an easy target. Claire was not an easy target, and tried hard not to take it as an insult. She grabbed a stake and headed for the door. The knocking was getting harder and stronger. 'Who's there?" she asked with a strong, calm and unafraid voice. 'Oh, for goodness sake Claire, let me in,' a known voice demanded. Claire hesitated and looked down at her stake. 'Jesse, is that you?" she held her hand on the first of the door locks. 'Yes. Do open the door. Myrnin has gone crazy again,' she replied. Claire unlocked the door and opened. She expected to see the red-haired, badass vampire that had helped her out so many times, but instead… Someone, something, lunged for her throat. Claire stumbled backwards and tripped over a table. Under the process, she lost her stake. She tried holding back the creature with her hands, but it was strong. She let out a helpless scream. She had no idea what was happening. She had heard Jesse's voice clearly. What the actual hell was this? It had sharp teeth, green neon eyes and it kept screaming at her with Jesse's light voice. She felt one of its claws pass her neck, opening it. Something that looked like a frog-tongue reached down and tasted her blood. If she hadn't been that terrified, she would probably be fascinated. 'Claire!' she heard Shane's voice call for her. He was running, she could tell by the noise of his bare feet hitting the floor upstairs. It sounded like Michael and Eve were on their way too. She just had to distract it… Hold it in place for a few more seconds… She tried screaming when the creature slid down and put its fangs in her neck, drinking. It seemed like it was never going to stop. She was dragged into a dizzy dimension of her old world and everything she saw was one big blur. Shane kicking off the monster, Michael trying hard to stab it with a stake and Eve, she was taking the final shoot. She heard a scream, but it sounded too far away. She couldn't worry… Just drift off to sleep. Ignoring Shane crying for her to not leave him and holding her, feeling like a useless rag doll.

Shane

I held the limp body of my Claire and stroke her hair gently. I felt tears pricking in my eyes, threatening to fall. Honestly, I didn't care. I tried checking her pulse, and it was still beating. Slowly and weakly. Michael had gone off to call the cops and everyone that could be called to help. Eve was crouched down next to me, holding something pressed against Claire's wound. 'Let's go into the living room, shall we? It's warmer and more comfortable…' Eve tried. 'I could have saved her. I heard her scream, but I was too slow. I was hesitating. Hesitation doesn't protect,' I mumbled to myself. I felt Eve's eyes on me. She wasn't wearing her Goth make-up, just a bathrobe that she most likely had grabbed on her way downstairs. Claire's eyelids fluttered a little and she moved her finger a little. 'You should stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong in your life,' she said and moved her gaze back on Claire. I hated when people told me that. They always said it like it was easy. It wasn't. It was impossible for me not to blame myself for what happened to Alyssa, my mom, my dad and what was happening with Claire, the only person that I truly loved. I just didn't understand how I could fail to protect her. I was about to tell Eve to go to hell, but Michael came out from the living room with his phone in his hand. 'Is she okay?' he asked and sat down in front of me. I could see the worry in his eyes and feel the tension between the three of us. I wasn't in a proper condition to answer, and I didn't really try either. My mouth felt dry as a desert. 'No, but she will be. She has lost a lot of blood,' I heard someone say. I flinched and looked up to see who the hell had sneaked up on us. It was a vampire nurse. Her name tag said 'Janice Blacke' and she looked like she was in the middle of the thirties. Very uncommon for a vampire. Most of them had been changed in the twenties. 'Please, let me in,' she said. I nodded and she stepped over the threshold. Behind her, two white dressed men came inside with some kind of corpse bag. Luckily, Janice shook her head and told them there was no need for the bag. They took her out of my arms and placed her on some kind of rolling table that they had placed outside. I was about to protest, but Michael placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head. 'Any of you coming with her, or do you want to wait until visiting time tomorrow?' she asked business like. I stood up to come with her, so did Michael and Eve. 'Only one of you,' Janice said quickly. The three of us looked at each other several seconds. 'I'm her best friend!' Eve said. I dragged a hand through my hair and allowed myself to grin mischievously. 'I'm her husband. Husband trumps bestie. Let me just get dressed,' I said and turned on my heels and ran upstairs.

I had been in the waiting arena of the hospital way too many times. Morganville hospital was like my second home. Of course, you'd have to get behind the fact that it had a weird smell and that it probably contained more dead bodies than an average graveyard, but hey, they had free cokes. The doctors had assured me that Claire was doing all fine, and that I would be allowed to visit her soon. Michael and Eve weren't allowed to come before 5p.m. I wouldn't be either, if we hadn't been married. Mm, another perk of being married to her. Couldn't get enough of them. 'Claire Collins,' a nurse said. I stood up and walked to the door. She pointed at room number 406 and I opened it. Claire was inside, lying in the hospital bed. She looked weak, fragile and vulnerable. I'd seen her worse, though. For an example, I had seen her dead with her neck snapped. Still, I was terribly worried. 'Claire, baby, I'm here,' I said softly and went to sit down by her side. The chair was comfortable, and way better than the chairs they had in the waiting sections. To my surprise, she responded to me. Her head tilted of to the right, where I was sitting and she gave me a lazy smile. 'Hey, handsome,' she giggled. She tried sitting up, but she winced. I placed a hand carefully on her shoulder to keep her down. 'This sucks,' she muttered. 'You're high,' I remarked and brushed some hair out of her face. 'I know,' she sighed. She looked exhausted and drugged down. Still my Claire, though. I placed a small kiss on her forehead, knowing that one of the nurses or doctors would come separate us again soon. 'What happened to me? All I remember is blurs and some kind of weird creature attacking me,' she said and stared up at the ceiling. She sure as hell didn't enjoy being drugged. She'd told me that it makes your brain work slow. 'I don't really know. All I know is that it tried to kill you. And of course, that it didn't,' I smiled a little. It was weird how she could look so terrible, but still as beautiful as ever. 'I have five fingers,' she blurted and showed me her hand. I took it and kissed her fingers. At least she hadn't lost her ability to count. Her common sense, though, was surely gone. 'Can I have a kiss?' she asked with a funny voice. She batted her eyelashes and gave me a weird smile. Probably her version of flirting when she was high. I leant over and gave her a quick kiss, just a stroke of our lips. She let out an annoyed groan. 'That's no kiss. I want a yellow balloon!' she announced. Instead of finding it hilarious, which I totally would if she hadn't been my wife, I felt like it was another reason to worry. 'I think you should get some rest before you say something you shouldn't,' I suggested and gave her another kiss. She tugged onto my arm and looked up at me with confused eyes. 'Why don't you love me anymore?' she asked. I looked at her and tried figuring out if she had lost her mind. She cocked her head a little and stared at me with big eyes, obviously waiting for an answer. 'I do love you. I don't know what kind of drug they gave you, but it seems like it's some pretty strong stuff,' I said and looked at her. She yawned and closed her eyes.

Claire

Waking up was a traumatic experience for Claire. Her head was banging and every single bone of her body felt like it had been crushed. She was dizzy and confused. It took a few minutes before she managed to remember where she was and why. A doctor was standing at the end of her hospital bed and writing stuff in his tiny, white notebook. 'She's awake,' he said loudly. A few nurses came inside and started unplugging her from all the machines. 'Where are my clothes?' she asked and looked down at her faded blue hospital gown. Not really fashionable. The t-shirt she wore was Eve's t-shirt. She would get pissed if the hospital had thrown it away. Also, those jeans were her best pair. There was no way she was letting go of them. 'Your husband is coming with some new clothes for you soon,' the doctor answered without looking up from his notebook. Claire felt a weird tickling in her stomach when people called Shane her husband. It sounded so… serious. Like people took their relationship serious. She couldn't ignore that he hadn't answered her question, and that he had just told her that Shane was going to pick out her outfit for the day. She shivered a little of the thought.

'Where are the clothes I came in? That's what I asked about,' Claire said slowly and annoyed.

'They are in that plastic bag over there. They're soaked in blood, but they can still be saved if you wash them when you get home,' the nurse said and gave her a shy smile. Claire smiled a little back. The nurse was a big lady, probably around 56 years old. She seemed nice.

The door opened, and in came the rest of the Glass House gang. Shane first, followed by Eve and then Michael. Eve rushed to her bed and gave her a hard hug. She felt choked, but hugged her back. Eve waved a plastic bag up in her face. 'I brought you clothes. I figured that you probably wouldn't be too happy with Shane's choice. He was about to pick…' Eve started. Shane cleared his throat and cut her off. 'Let's not go into details, Gothica. Do you feel better, Claire?' She nodded and gave him a little smile. Shane came to stand by her side and gave Eve a little push with his shoulder. He bent down and gave her a little kiss on the cheek and the forehead. All she wanted was to kiss him, for real, but she was way too out of shape. Whatever they had put her on last night it had totally knocked her out. She sat up in the hospital bed and leant on Shane when she stood up. He put an arm around her to help. She felt terrible, but she wanted to feel terrible back home and not in the hospital. Eve handed Shane the bag of clothes and he almost carried her to the bathroom. She wondered if she should ask for help to change, but she figured that she didn't feel that bad.

Michael jumped into the driver seat. Shane called of his shotgun to sit in the back with Claire, which she really appreciated. The car trip stayed silent except from a little argument about what they were going to have for dinner. Shane wanted tacos and Eve wanted hamburgers. All Claire wanted was for them to shut up, but she was having a too big hangover to care. 'I vote for hamburgers,' Michael finally said and that got a happy squeal from Eve. 'Nah, come on! Claire, you're with me on tacos, right?' Shane said and looked at her. Her stomach turned and she felt like she would vomit. Her teeth clenched and she tugged on to Shane's arm with all her strength (which wasn't much, considering the state she was in). She felt his arm stroking over her back sending shivers down her spine. She tried focusing on the comfort he gave her, but her stomach was turning around. 'You look pale,' Shane said and looked at her with worried eyes. She leant back in her seat and concentrated on breathing. She didn't want to worry Shane more, not now that he seemed to have gone back to his normal, casual modus. 'Probably just the meds. I feel fine,' she lied and tried to be a little less tense. 'You two okay back there?' Michael asked as he cut off the engine of the car. Claire saw two police cars in their driveway and she suddenly felt worried again. 'Shane, help me out of the car, will you?' she asked faintly and stroke a palm over his arm. He nodded and gave her a peck on the cheek before he got out and walked around to give her a hand.

The house felt like home and she could feel it greeting them when they walked inside. Unfortunately, there were two cops in their hallway and a weird looking dragon thing. It looked dead and it had two legs, a tail and a skinny body. 'I guess you are the victim of this thing? I'm Welma,' a woman greeted. She was about Eve's size but a little older and she was a cop. 'I'm Claire,' she said so weakly that she felt embarrassed about it. She cleansed her throat a little and walked out of Shane's arms to give Welma a handshake. Shane hovered by her side, She found it a little annoying, but she said nothing. 'I know who you are. Anyways, would you like to tell us about the event?' Welma replied and gave her a wry smile.

'I would love to, if you came back later. Maybe tomorrow. I don't feel very well,' Claire said and tried making her vice sound strong and independent, even though she felt like she was about to faint. She wasn't really worried about fainting, because if she fell, she knew Shane was there to catch her. Welma nodded and gave her colleague a head gesture to tell him they were leaving.

When the cops had left, Claire let herself fall back in Shane's arms. She sighed in relief when she felt his strong arms wrapped around her. She usually didn't cling on him, but sometimes it felt good to be a little weak and needy. 'You're going straight to bed,' he murmured with his face buried in her hair. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and she yawned. 'It's only 4p.m and I still have to go to work,' Claire said and tried getting out of his arms. He didn't let her go. 'You wish,' he said and took her hand. She felt his fingers against hers and as ever, she felt tickling in her stomach when he was close. She couldn't see that ever going away. 'Shane, I really have to go. I'd rather be at work for two hours than go straight to bed alone,' she exclaimed and looked him straight in the eyes. 'Who said you were going all alone?' Shane raised his eyebrows and gave her a mischievous smile. She groaned and placed a hand on her forehead. 'I don't know. I just took it for granted, because... Hell. There still a monster in our house,' she said and closed the distance between her and the creature that had caused so much trouble. She thought those stupid cops had figured out that they should remove the beast, then go home. She gave it a small kick in the side. 'You always get angry and frustrated when you're tired. Come, let's get you upstairs. Me and Michael can throw that thing out afterwards,' Shane said and almost dragged her with him. She tried protesting, but he didn't stop.

She undressed herself and crawled up under the sheets. Shane turned off the light and sat down on the bed. He was looking at her with loving eyes. She hadn't really gotten used to the fact that they were married. Like, actually married. Somehow, she'd thought something would change between them, but it never did. They were still the same two persons and they still had the same feelings. They'd been married for about a month, which meant it was Christmas soon. Even though her head was banging and every muscle in her body hurt, she sat up in bed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. 'I love you,' she said and gave him a smile. He looked down at his feet, and for a second she thought he wasn't going to say it back. But, he lifted his gaze and gave her a sweet smile. 'I love you too,' He gave her a quick kiss on the lips, which made her shiver of pleasure and craving for more. Instead of giving her what she wanted, he just stroke his palm over her cheek. 'Please, Claire. Get some rest, you look terrible,' he said. He probably meant it in a non offensive way, but Claire couldn't help but feeling a little bad about it. Sometimes it felt like he didn't have time for her. She looked away and laid back in the bed. 'I feel terrible. Do you want to make me feel better?' she asked and leant back on her elbows. Shane smiled to himself and crawled up to her. 'I'd even sing you a good night song,' he replied and made himself comfortable next to her. 'Yes, please,' she said and started playing with his hair. He scoot a look over on her and shook his head. 'Come on, you know I'm an awful singer. If your head hurts, me singing would only make it worse,' he said. He was probably right. She placed her arm around his neck and dragged him down so she could kiss him. He didn't protest, but she could feel him hesitating. He didn't hesitate when their lips met, though. Their tongues meeting each other, the known taste of the man she loved... She lost herself in the kiss and relaxed in Shane's strong, protective arms.

She must have fallen asleep during the kissing process, 'cause when she opened her eyes, Shane was gone and her hair was sticking up in different angles. She felt better, and there was no headache anymore. It was 2a.m and it sounded like there were people awake. She didn't bother with her hair, because no matter who was downstairs would probably still love her even though her hair didn't look good.

When she came downstairs, the smell of tacos hit her like a wave of deliciousness. She found Michael cleaning the kitchen while humming on a song melody that she barely recognized as one of his own. 'Shane got it his way, I see. Did you guys leave anything for me?' she asked. Michael didn't seem to have noticed her before, so he almost jumped half a meter in shock. 'Geez, Claire! Get a bell. And yes, of course we left you some. Shane was about to eat'em but I saved them in the last second,' he said and looked at her with big eyes. Claire scanned the kitchen until she saw a little bag from Taco Bell. She grabbed it and ripped it open. Inside, there were three tacos. Yum. 'I'm starving,' she blurted and took the plate Michael handed her and threw the tacos on it. When the hot sauce hit her tongue, she almost moaned of pleasure.

After finishing the plate of tacos, Michael was done with the kitchen. It looked shiny and clean. 'Do you feel better?' he asked and sat down in the chair above her. She nodded and held in a burp. 'Yep. Much better. Did you throw the dragon thingy out?' she asked and took a sip from her coke.

'Yes, Hannah came while you were asleep. It's in a lab somewhere now,' he shrugged. Claire noticed that something was bothering him. He had that tense attitude that made everything he did look like a robot motion. 'Michel, what's wrong?' she asked and looked at him. He didn't meet her eyes. 'You know you can tell me,' Michael lifted his gaze, but he still didn't meet her eyes. 'I can't. I promised Eve I wouldn't tell you or Shane anything,' he said and finally met her eyes. She raised her eyebrow at him. 'I won't tell on you,' she said. She felt like she was back in pre-school. When you knew someone had a secret that they didn't want to tell, you hovered around the person until he/she finally told you what it was. Why? Because you wanted to be the first person to know. 'I'll tell you if you promise to give me some advice,' he said with a serious voice. 'Sure,' Claire said businesslike. She put on a casual face that gave her a 'whatever' kind of look. At the inside, she was jumping like a little girl, begging for him to tell her. 'Oh, and promise not to tell Shane,' he continued, This made Claire even more eager to know what was going on. She nodded and made a promise to herself that she wasn't going to tell anyone – unless it was about life and death. 'Eve's pregnant,' he sighed. Claire almost choked her coke. 'She' what? Are you serious?' she blurted. She wanted to ask him a thousand questions, but she noticed to see that he didn't look happy about it. 'Dead serious. She wanted to wait with breaking the news, and I really didn't want to ruin it for her,' he said. 'I'll put up a surprised look on my face when she tells us. Now, what's the problem? This should be a happy-thing, but you just sit there looking like you just lost your wallet,' she said. Michael looked like he wanted to cry, and she really wanted to avoid that. Honestly, she had no idea what to do if a guy started crying. It was sweet and all when they showed they had feelings too, but she didn't know how to sooth anybody but Shane. Actually, not even him. 'I love her and all, but... I really wanted to wait. We're young and I don't think I'm ready,' he said with an afraid, small voice. She placed her hand on his arm and patted it. 'You'll have enough time to get ready. How many weeks?' she replied. She knew she should sooth him, give him some advice, but her curiosity got the better of her. 'One month. She told me two weeks ago,' he almost whispered. Wow. Eve keeping big news like that secret for one month? 'Eight to go, then. Don't worry, Michael. You always wanted to start a family with Eve. Now that you're not a vampire anymore, you finally have the chance,' she encouraged. 'I know that. I just wanted us to live a little first... It's all going too fast for me. She really does rush things. I'm not going anywhere, but it feels like she's desperate to make me stay,' he said. Claire thought about it for a while. She wasn't sure if she was doing the same thing with Shane, but she didn't think so.

'You know Michael, there's a million ways she could loose you. When you were a vampire, you had to stay in Morganville. Now that you're human again, you can leave town. You can be a musician and forget about her, not that I think you would, or should, but she may think so. Also, you have girls hovering around you all the time. You're kind of a local celebrity. Maybe she wants the child because that if you are a family, you're bound to each other,' she said. Michael looked down again. 'Should I just tag along and be happy for her?' he asked. Claire rolled her eyes. 'No. You should be happy for both of you. A relationship doesn't work out if it's only what one of you want. Just talk to her, and try to see things from both point of views,' she said and gave him a smile. 'Sounds like the right thing to do,' he nodded. Claire yawned and walked upstairs. She realized how tired she was, and decided she wouldn't make it all down the hallway, so she just walked inside Shane's room. She found him under the sheets, snoring. She undressed herself again and slipped down under the sheets. Shane had a smaller bed than her, but it was room for them both. She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and wandered off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, this is the reason none of my other stories will get finished; **

**My old PC crashed. I just bought myself a Macbook pro, so I will be able to keep this story up. I'm really sorry to stop 'Changed', but honestly, it was written poorly. I'm a 13 year old girl from Norway, and I'm not a professional author. Sorry guys. I'm planning for this story to last, though! If you have any ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them in the review section down below. I hope you're enjoying reading my novel! **

**Again; I own nothing but my plot. Rachel Caine, the author of Morganville Vampires, has all rights.**

2

_Claire_

Waking up with a sweaty, whimpering boyfriend, no strike that, _husband,_ is never a pleasant experience for anyone. Neither was it for Claire Collins.

'Shane, sweetie? What's wrong?' she asked and sat up in bed. Shane Collins, her husband was half sitting, half lying there with damp hair and wild, scared eyes. He was frantically looking around the room, and he was out of the blanket, leaning on his elbows and tensing every muscle in his body. He flinched when he heard her voice. He looked like he had just run a marathon, and he was panting like that too. She could barely see him in the twilight of the room, so she turned on the lamp that was on his small table next to the bed. He didn't look good. 'Shane? Talk to me, will you?' she begged and placed a palm on his back. She could tell he was working hard with getting his breathing back to normal. 'I'm fine. Just a bad dream. I can deal,' he swallowed and waved her off. She looked at him and wondered if it would be a good idea to hug him. He looked so panicked that it hurt to look at him. 'You clearly can't. You look terrible and you're sweating like a pig,' she remarked and closed the distance between them. She leant against his side and tried ignoring that touching him was like jumping into a pool of man sweat. 'Thanks for that,' he said with a voice dripping of sarcasm. He took a deep breath and she placed a hand on his bare chest. 'I mean like, really, you need a shower,' she said and removed her hand to dry it on the sheets of his bed. 'It's 5a.m, Claire,' he said and met her eyes. 'Oh you know, I could also need a shower,' she shrugged and looked away, wondering if he would read between the lines. 'We're going to wake the others up,' he warned. She gave him a teasing smile. 'I don't mind.'

With clean clothes, mint breaths and wet hair they walked downstairs. The shower had waken them up, so they saw no point in going back to sleep. Or... Shane wanted to, but Claire "forced" him. He yet hadn't told her about his dream. Even though she wanted to know, she wasn't going to push him. He sat down in the couch and picked up his Xbox controller and switched the TV on. Instead of going straight to the game, he stopped. He stared at the TV. Morganville News. Claire curled up on the couch next to him and he put an arm around her without taking his eyes away from the screen. 'What happened that night when you got attacked by the monster?' he asked, still not looking at her. 'Well.. You know, three days ago I had a nightmare. After you fell back to sleep, I went downstairs to get some coffee. Then I heard someone knock on the door... God, Shane, it's pretty unclear...' she said and wrinkled her forehead whilst trying hard to remember. When she thought she was on the track, her head started aching like crazy. She let out a cry of both shock and pain. 'Does your head ache?' he asked with a calm voice. He kept his arm tightly around her. She managed to nod a little. 'Then just keep on going. This was what happened to my mom when she tried to remember! Don't give in. She remembered at the end,' he continued.

_Yeah, and then she got tracked down and killed. _

Of course, she didn't say that out loud. She kept on trying while Shane held her and soothed her while she was trembling of pain. 'I can't,' she whimpered. 'No, please Claire! It's important, I promise. It only hurts for a while. I've been there myself. When it's over it's over. Hold on, sweetie please do this. For me? Please,' he begged. She didn't know what he was up to, but he seemed to think it was pretty damn necessary that she figured out what had happened. She kept trying. It felt like she was breaking a barrier, removing one and one stone in a slow-motion modus. And every stone she removed, fell down in her head from 10 meters height. It hurt so bad, that she was unable to move, unable to speak... Even though it hurt like hell, she felt closer to the truth. 'It was Jesse...' she whispered. It still was unclear, but she could remember that it was something about Jesse. She felt dizzy and awfully tired. She didn't get any more information, and her brain just wouldn't. The only thing she could remember was the sight of Jesse in the door and that she had attacked her. It didn't seem right at all. Jesse was one of the few vampires that had actually got out of her way to help humans. Of course, Shane didn't even question it. He just got up from the couch and headed for the kitchen. 'I'm going to kill that fucking bloodsucking bitch,' he sounded blind with rage. Claire slowly stood up to go after him. 'You're only going to get yourself killed! Stop!' she stumbled forward and leant against the wall so she wouldn't fall. Shane had already picked up their famous weapon bag and swung it over his shoulder. He walked right past her. She didn't even get a look from him. When he was in angry, pissed off, war modus he was in his own bubble and it was difficult to get to him. 'No, Shane! Stop! Stop right there, don't you dare walk outside that door!' she bucked up and ran up in front of him. 'Claire, move. I'm going. I'm not letting her get away from this! Hell, she almost killed you! I can't let that go unpunished,' he screamed. The look in his eyes reminded her too much of Frank, his dead father. Eyes filled with rage, anger, regret and craziness. His pupils were large and black. He didn't look like himself at all. 'If you think you're doing this for me, you are dead wrong. I don't want you to do this, so calm the crap down and sit down,' she said with a calm voice, like you do to an angry dog. He didn't sit down, but he stood still. It wasn't more than she could ask for. 'I'm okay, sweetie. Really. See? I'm still one piece and I'm breathing,' she whispered and gave him a hug. It was like hugging a stone for the first seconds, but he softened after a while and placed his arm around her. Eve and Michael must have woken up by the screaming a long time ago, but really, who wanted to get out of bed to go into a war zone with Shane and her? 'I'm sorry Claire,' he said. She nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. The kind of kisses you see old married couples give each other before one goes to work. 'It's okay. Promise me you won't go anywhere? I want you to stay alive,' she said and poked his nose. He didn't seem to enjoy that she did it, but he didn't really mind either. 'Nothing makes sense of the Jesse thing either... The monster is dead, but Jesse is still uhm... Can you call it alive?' Claire reminded him. 'That's true. I just loose my mind when I get angry. Or, more like when someone has hurt you. It's always like that. I want to protect you, and I fail badly 70% of the time. I just want to make it up to you,' he said. It probably made sense in his head, but in hers it just sounded weird. He let go of her and sat down in the sofa, putting his face in his hands, looking tired. 'You can make everything up to me with just staying alive and loving me. However, if you had failed to protect me, I wouldn't still be alive. The fact that we're still here – together – is the fact that we are protecting each other,' she said and took a quick look at the clock. 'I've got 15 minutes until I've got to go to the lab,' she reminded. 'I'll drive you there. It's snowing outside,' he pointed out the window and she saw the black sky with lots of white snowflakes in it.

'Myrnin! Are you here?' she shouted as she entered the lab. He had just gotten lamps in the roof and electric devices, so it was just to turn on a switch when she came inside. It was nice to not have to bother about lighting a hundred candles before being able to start working. 'Yes. I am over here,' he said and looked at her. He was on the left side of his lab. He never was at the left side of his lab. 'I'm sorry for skipping work this week. I got attacked by something...,' she was just in the middle of her apologies, but Myrnin waved her off. 'Oh, I have heard about all that. Now, go over there and read the books I've put out to you. They contain much information about my latest project. Make sure you understand all of it. If not, you are of none use.' By '_my new project_' he probably meant _their_ new project. She had been the one coming up with the idea and the design. He just wasn't the one to share credit. Instead of staring an argument, that she most likely would loose, she just shrugged it off and went to read the books.

After a few hours of reading, she finally lifted her gaze and found Myrnin sitting there staring at her with disturbed eyes. She closed the book and looked up at him. 'What?' she asked annoyed and rubbed her aching eyes. Reading usually didn't exhaust her, but now she felt hungry and tired. 'It is weird you know. I have been sitting her for quite a while now. I do not know why, but I can hear two heartbeats from you. It's quite amazing!' he replied and looked at her. 'Don't fool around, Myrnin. How long have I been here?' 'You have been here for about 7 hours. You have been working real slow, Claire. I must say I am disappointed,' he nodded at the book. She had just read about 900 pages of it. That was weird. Not that she felt all good, and the process of trying-to-remember-what-killed-you, hadn't really helped her with recovering from the event three days ago. 'I don't feel very well,' was her only response. She picked up her backpack and headed for the exit. Shane was supposed to drive her home. 'You should get one of those pregnancy tests, Claire. I do think I heard a second heartbeat,' Myrnin shouted after her.

As expected, Shane was in his car outside with blasted radio volume. The big, black monster car made her feel tiny and awkward, but he seemed to adore the monster. She hopped in and turned down the volume of the radio. 'Hey! I was listening to that,' he complained. 'Yeah, and you can still listen to it. The only difference is that this noise level doesn't make you deaf. Can you stop at the paramedics? I've got to buy something,' she said and thought about the thing Myrnin had said about a 'second heartbeat.' It wouldn't hurt to check, even though she had checked... Two months ago. 'Yeah, sure. Can you buy some rubbers too? Running low,' he said and gave her a sly grin. She play-punched his arm. 'No, I'm so not buying you condoms! Go buy some yourself,' she blushed and that made his grin even bigger. 'Fine. I'll come with you then,' he shrugged. 'No!' She most likely wasn't pregnant, but she didn't want him to see her buying some tests, anyway. He cocked his head and looked at her. 'Keep your eyes on the road.' He did. 'I know how to drive, Claire. I'm not a 16 year old practicing looser anymore,' he said. 'Yeah. Now you're just a 20 year old looser,' she said and looked at the road. 'Ouch,' he said and tried to sound offended. She rolled her eyes at him and tried fighting a smile.

With shivering hands she took the test out of its package. Sweat was dripping from her forehead and her palms felt clammy. She had taken pregnancy tests before, but never been this scared and nervous. Her eyes closed and the only thing she could hear was her beating pulse and her fast heartbeat pounding in her chest. The last thing she wanted in the world was for the test to be positive. Not that she was never going to have a baby with Shane, she just wasn't ready. Neither did she think Shane was. She raised the pregnancy test to look at the answer. 'Dear god, no,' she cried and placed her face in her hands. Tears wouldn't fall, even though it felt like she was going to cry. How was she going to break the news to Shane? Would he leave her? What would her parents say?

Walking down those stairs had never been this painful or scary. Every step she took was slow and insecure. Luckily, Shane was the only one home right now. Both Eve and Michael were at work. When he heard her coming down the stairs, he paused his game and smiled at her. How could he smile? She tried smiling back, but she couldn't.

_Shane_

'What's up? You look like you've just lost your puppy,' I tried cracking a joke to light up her mood. She seriously didn't look happy. I saw tears pricking in her eyes and her lips were trembling slightly. 'Claire, are you okay?' I asked and stood up to walk to her. When the distance between us was closed, she refused to meet my eyes. I tried brushing some hair out of her face, kissing her forehead and everything a nice, caring boyfriend should do for his girlfriend. 'Please don't leave me,' she whispered and finally looked up at me. Now there were tears streaming down her cheeks. It was like a knot in my stomach and I felt scared. What was going on with her? She knew I would never leave her. I had meant it when I said I would stay by her side until death torn us apart. 'Of course I won't. I love you,' I sad and wiped her tears. She bent her head down and smiled a little between her tears. Worry was the only feeling I had left. 'I'm pregnant,' she said and burst out crying. She sobbed and all I did was holding her. There were too many thoughts in my head and everything was floating around in blurs. I had no idea what to say, nor what how to feel about it. Her dad was going to kill me, or her mom if not. There was just no way this was happening. I wasn't ready for this, neither was she. We were not ready. 'What are we going to do?' she cried. I didn't know what to say. The last thing I wanted was for her to pull back and look at me, but she did. Shrugging seemed like a bad idea. She needed someone to rely on, someone to know what to do. It was clear that I was the only one, but I really had no idea. 'Shane!' the desperation in her voice was so awful that I wish she had just kept on crying. When she cried, I could at least sooth her. Instead of answering her, I just stood there looking at her. We didn't touch and a distance between us was built up against my will. 'Say something! Do you want this? Are you leaving me?' I had never heard her like this. She looked so small and terrified. 'I'm not going anywhere!' I vowed. I was sick of her not trusting me enough to be sure of the fact that I was never leaving her. She seemed to calm down when I had told her once again that I wasn't going to leave. She let out another sob and walked to the closest chair and collapsed in it. 'Are we keeping it?' she whispered. 'We're doing what you want to. It's you're choice, Claire and I am going to support you no matter what,' I said. I meant it. If she didn't want this, she could take an abortion. If she wanted to keep the baby… We would be a family, I guess. 'How many weeks?' I asked and walked to lean on the chair she was sitting in. 'Two weeks,' she replied. It didn't make sense to me. I'd been using protection every time. Now that the shock had faded a little, and I could think clearly… I thought about how I'd been dreaming of having a baby with Claire.

"_Carrie Alyssa Collins. That's what I'd name her."_

When Michael and Eve came home, Claire ran up to her room. Not that I had expected anything else, but she could have asked me to come with her. 'Hey, man. Have you guys been fighting again?' Michael asked and helped Eve with her jacket. I shrugged and turned on the TV. I was in no mood for chit chatting with them. 'You two can never be at peace? Either you're fighting or you're wrestling in the bed. None of them is done in silence,' Eve giggled. I flipped her off and concentrated on the TV. Some stupid football game. Michael sat down in the couch and picked up the 2nd player control for the Xbox. 'Want to get your ass kicked?' he play hit me with his elbow and

grinned like an idiot. 'Later. Can I have a word with you?' I asked with a low voice. Me and Michael weren't the ones to talk. We just didn't. To us, solving each other's problems was just one fist and one kick away. 'Uhm, sure. What's going on?' he asked. 'Come,' I said and headed for the kitchen.

'What? Is she pregnant? What the hell were you thinking, asshole? She's fucking 19!' Michael hissed. I put my hands up and tried to make him calm down. 'I don't know. Really, we used protection,' I said slightly embarrassed. I'm sure that if Michael had still been a vampire, he would have been flashing fangs and showed off his blood red eyes. Claire was like a little sister to him. Michael looked down at the table and placed a hand on his forehead in a frustrated motion. 'Eve's pregnant too,' he mumbled. Well, that was not expected. 'What? Is she?' I asked. If I had been a cartoon, I would have had those big eyes and anime mouth. 'I wasn't supposed to tell you or Claire. I told Claire, though. Now I've told you,' he said and looked up at me again. 'Well, congrats man. Now back to the problem; what the fuck am I going to do?' Michael seemed to get a little bit offended. I knew that I was selfish when I acted like I didn't care about the news he had just broken to me. I guess I would be happy for him when I had time for that. All I could think about now, was Claire and how upset she had been. 'How did she tell you, then?' he asked. I first now realized how tired my best friend sounded. I pushed the thought away and answered him. 'She came downstairs all serious and told me. Then she started crying and asking what she should do. When you guys came home, she leaped upstairs,' there was a tense silence between us. Not awkward or uncomfortable, but it made me worry even more. 'Why didn't you just stalk her upstairs?' he asked and took a coke out of the fridge. 'I don't know. Maybe she just needs some time to think and some peace… She's worried about what her parents will think,' I sighed. 'Do you want this?' he suddenly asked. I was not prepared for that question, so I just shrugged and thought about what to say. 'No. I mean, of course I want to start a family with her but… We're so young. I'm not ready to be a family man,' I said. There were much more to the truth than I was ever going to tell Michael. Maybe Claire, one day.

That night, I didn't walk into Claire's room. I don't know why, but I just didn't. I knew she was scared and that she was probably crying herself to sleep, but I couldn't face her. Not because my feelings for her had changed, they hadn't, but because I needed time to think. Maybe she needed time too. I grabbed my iPod and threw myself on the bed. It was like being in a hotel room, not my own. The sheets were clean and crumpled. The whole thing hadn't really sunk in. I was going to be a dad or I was going to sit in the waiting area of the hospital waiting and paying for her abortion. It was a 50/50 chance for both of them. The worst thing of this was that I had no idea whether I wanted it or not. Maybe I just needed to get over the scary part and be happy if she chose to keep the baby. When the Draug had gotten me, I had been dreaming of things I wanted, but when I woke up… It felt like just another dream that was never coming true. I wanted to feel the same love for the kid that appeared in my dreams every now and then like I had done in the pools getting eaten alive. Of course, if she decided to keep the baby, there would be no way back to the time when the two of us were the only ones to care for and protect. We would have another person to love and take care of. Thinking of that made me terrified and worried. So many things could go wrong, and there was just no way it was going to be easy and I _knew_ it.

**Thank you for following/favoriting/reviewing my history! It makes me cry of happiness. I know I'm starting many of the sentences with 'I', 'she', 'he' and I'm trying to find ways around it. Any tip will be appreciated! **

**PS: Christmas break is around the corner and I will write ten times more than usual :D**


	3. Chapter 3

3

_Claire_

The phone call to her mom went straight to voicemail once again. Since Shane hadn't cared enough to come talk about it and Eve was busy and her mom didn't pick up the phone she was actually wondering if she should call her dad for comfort. Luckily, she understood that calling him would only make him angry, upset and even more worried. That was not a good thing for his already bad heart. Even though she tried to stay strong, she couldn't help but let out a sob. Once the first tear had fallen, there was no way of stopping the others from just streaming. She cuddled up against the biggest pillow in her bed and pretended it was Shane. If he only knew how much she wanted to talk to him right now… She used her sweater to wipe her tears and sniffled a little before sitting up again. Looking down at her stomach, she started wondering what really was there. It was a baby. Her and Shane's baby. Her palm stroke carefully over her belly and she let out a sigh. 'What have I gotten myself into?' she asked herself and tried to not to get angry when her brain didn't find a solution for her problem.

Her eyes slid open. A quick look at the watch next to her bed told her it was in the middle of the night. She had never been this hungry before. She was craving pickles. Without thinking about what she was doing, she jumped out of bed and threw some clothes on before running downstairs to get pickles. _Pickles. Pickles. Pickles._ The only thing on her mind was the taste of those yummy pickles that had to be in the kitchen. Instead of storming into the kitchen, she stopped. There was someone inside. Was it one of those monster creatures again? She tip toed to the door and leant against it. There was someone in there, going through their shelves. She took a deep breath and slammed the door open. Instead of facing a hungry vampire, she looked straight at her best friend, Eve. The shock, relief and happiness of seeing her standing there was so big that she couldn't help but laugh. Eve looked kind of offended at first, but after a while she joined in laughing. 'I thought you were a vampire lurking inside the kitchen,' Claire smiled and sat down with the table. Shane hadn't done the dishes last night. She sighed and stood up to take all the dirty dishes and out them away. 'Thanks for the compliment, girlfriend. What are you doing up at this time, by the way?' Eve asked and sat down in her chair. 'Uhm… Pickles,' she mumbled and opened the fridge to find the bottle of mini cucumbers that she had been wanting so badly for the last 10 minutes. Opening it and taking the first one into her mouth and just chew it… Deliciousness. 'Claire, you hate pickles. If I hadn't known better I would have thought you were pregnant,' Eve cracked. The pickle almost choked her. Instead of laughing, she just looked away and kept on chewing nervously on her pickle. 'Well… You aren't pregnant? Are you?' Eve asked unsurely and looked at her with serious eyes. 'No,' she whispered. She was a terrible liar, and she knew it. 'Claire, I'm your best friend. Please tell me the truth,' she said even more serious. The worry in her voice was huge. Would it be so hard to just say those three words? _I am pregnant. _She had told Shane… Or cried to him. Scared him away, probably. 'Yes, then. Yes I am pregnant…' she almost whispered. Her voice was so weak. Eve squealed and hugged her with too much force. 'Oh my god! I can't believe this! I'm pregnant too! Claire, we're going to be moms!' she almost yelled. How could she be so happy about it? Claire, herself, just wanted to puke by the thought of all the stress and everything that came with the Being-A-Mother package. 'Yey,' she cheered, but her heart was really not in it. Instead of sounding happy, she sounded more like those bad actors in 2nd grade school plays. 'This is SO amazing! Oh, we can buy matching baby clothes for them and…' Eve was most likely going to talk an hour about how they would get Goth baby clothes and stuff. 'I can't, Eve. I'm not keeping it,' Claire blurted. Her best friend went silent as she pulled back. Her eyes went dark and sad. 'Did Shane decide for you? If so, I'm kicking that guy's ass!' Eve started off again. Her voice had turned from the joyful tone to the angry I-hate-Shane-Collins tone that she often got when Claire came to her for comfort after a fight. 'No! We haven't talked about it yet… Or, he knows but he didn't… He doesn't seem like he want to talk about it, okay?'

Tears were pricking in her eyes and she tried blinking 100 times a second to get them away. She even wiped her eyes in annoyance, but then they started to fall. 'Oh, Claire Bear honey, don't cry,' Eve soothed and embraced her in another hug. She really tried to stop crying, but there was just no way she could do that. 'I'm afraid he's leaving me,' she sobbed. The knot in her stomach grew big like a basketball when she thought of Shane leaving her to deal with this on her own. It didn't seem like him to do it, or even think about it, but… How could she be so sure? She should probably trust him, but trusting others was hard when you didn't even trust yourself. 'No, Claire. Don't worry. I may say hell of a lot of bad things about that guy, but I know one thing for sure and that is that he really loves you. Everyone can see it in his eyes when he looks at you. He's not going to leave you,' her words were soothing, and they did comfort her. She saw the love in his eyes when their gazes met, and she could feel it in every single touch. Could the pregnant thing have turned his love off like a switch? Like, swoop, and all his feelings for here were gone? God, she hoped not.

After letting it all out and getting Eve's comfort, she actually felt a lot better. Like she was ready to face the world. Well, that was until she walked upstairs and stood in front of Shane Collins' door. Her husband and the love of her life. Her breath was shaking, but she opened the door slightly. To her surprise, he looked up to see who was peeking inside his room. He had turned off all the lights, and he laid there in the dark all alone. 'Can I come in?' she spoke carefully. He nodded slightly. She hurried inside and locked the door behind her. He sat up and leant back on his elbows. His muscles were all tense and flexing. 'I just…' she started of, but her voice faded. She could barely make out his face in the twilight. He sat up and placed an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. She shivered a little when the feeling of safety and love attacked her like a windstorm. 'Can I talk to you?' she asked and buried her face into his chest. He was _here_. He hadn't left, and he didn't treat her different at all. He was the same old Shane that she knew and loved. 'You know you always can,' he replied with a soft voice. His hands petted her hair and she felt so peaceful. How come she had even doubted his love for her? They were married, and still he told and showed her that he loved her every single day. 'Do you want this?' she asked and bent her head back so she could look at him. He sighed. 'I've been thinking about it. I want to start a family with you. I'm just afraid it all came too soon and that we're not ready,' he said. 'I know and I do think the same thing. It's just… Do you want this now?' she asked. The shivering in her voice was there, but it didn't show off too much. Luckily. 'To be honest with you, I do want this. I really do,' he admitted. It seemed to be words he had been thinking about for years. Maybe he had? 'I don't know if I should keep the baby' she said quietly. He sighed and pressed her closer. Their bodies fit perfectly together and it felt like she melted into him. He smelled so familiar and home. The fabric of his shirt touched her cheek. 'I'll stand by your side no matter what you choose. I love you,' she could tell he meant every word of it. Hearing him say that his feelings for her were still the same was so relieving that she almost started crying again. 'I love you too,' she sniffled and bent her head back so she could kiss him. The smile he gave her made her warm and happy. Shane was and would always be the light at the end of her tunnel. 'I'm too in love with you to function,' she added after a few seconds of comfortable silence. Nothing felt awkward with Shane anymore. He didn't seem to know what to say, so he kissed her instead. Kissing him made her forget about the world. Eve's disappointment when she told her she wouldn't keep the baby, the new creatures that were in Morganville and what her parents would think of the fact that she was pregnant. 'Don't worry, beautiful. We'll find a way. We always do,' Shane was whispering in her ear. He pressed his lips carefully against her neck and left a tender kiss. She couldn't help but touching his soft, dark hair. She kept on playing with his hair until she heard him snoring lightly.

_Shane_

'_Wake up daddy, wake up!' she yelled at the top of her lungs. My 4 year old daughter who didn't want to be late for kindergarten. Claire had left for work earlier this morning, but I hadn't bothered to get up. 'Daddy! I'm going to be late and it's going to be YOUR fault! Get up, lazy,' she complained. I sat up and scratched my head, not feeling rested at all. 'I'm coming, Carrie. Just 5 more minutes, okay?' She groaned and shook her head. 'No way. I love you daddy, but sometimes you are REALLY lazy,' I smiled at her when she rolled her eyes. She was like a cute little mini Claire. Adorable. _

_Suddenly, it all fades. The known bedroom changes into a forest. Dark and mysterious with trees everywhere. My daughter is gone and I start looking for her. After a few seconds, I can hear her screaming and crying for help. 'Carrie! Where are you?' I yell. She doesn't answer. She just keeps on wailing. Then I hear her choking. She drops down in front of me hanging from a rope. There's blood dripping from her mouth and the rope… It's tied around her neck. 'Carrie!' I cry and try reaching for her. She's dead, and I know it. The feelings are overwhelming, and I have no idea what to do. Tears are in my eyes, but everyone knows I won't cry them. Everyone knows that all I want to do is to kill the one who did this to my daughter. Break every bone in their body; hit them with all my rage and fury. With shaking hands, I take my little girl down from the tree, like she is a Christmas tree decoration. I fall down on my knees with her limp body in my arms. It's like everything worth living for is gone. I pray to God, wishing nothing of this ever happened. 'You bastard!' I hear a girl scream as she throws a rock at me. Hard. It hurts, but I'm in my own world. Nothing really matters. 'You killed my daughter!' she screams. Her voice is full of rage and I turn around to look at her. Claire is standing there, tears streaming down her cheeks, accusing me for killing Carrie. And she's pointing a shotgun at me. 'I didn't… I was looking for her and she fell down…' I try explaining but I'm shivering and my voice breaks. I let out a sob, but I try covering it. Sobbing is grieving. Grief is after revenge. That's what my dad taught me. 'You fucking liar! I hate you! You failed to protect her! You failed everything! I wish I never… I wish I never met you!' she screams up in my face. I can tell she's saying the truth. It hurts. Badly. I look at her, and I have no idea what to say. My wife is pointing a gun at me and my daughter is dead in my arms. In this moment, I don't care if she shoots me or not. She does, though. She won't miss from that distance. Not my Claire. I hear the shot, and the bullet comes closer, heading straight in between my eyes…_

'Fuck,' I whispered as my eyes opened. I don't remember sitting up, but I was sitting there, breathing hard. I turned my head just to make sure Claire was okay. She was. I tried relaxing my breath, but I was panting and coughing uncontrollably. Since I didn't want to wake Claire, I decided to just hold my breath. It took me a few seconds to just realize that it had only been a dream. I hadn't failed to protect anyone. Claire wasn't going to kill me, and I had no daughter. There was no way of getting back to sleepy mode, but it was 6 a.m. Waking up and going out of bed now would ruin my reputation and street-cred. So would getting a kid… I guess my mom had been right that day when she tried making me a 'good boy.' She had said I would be a good boy when I grew up anyway, because that's the way badasses, like me, are. When we're young, all we want to do is mess around and slack everything that can be slacked. Most of us settle down. I'm with Claire and I'm not thinking of any other girls. I missed my mom. She would have told me the right thing to do now.

Missing my mom and Alyssa was painful. I never forgot about them, but they weren't always on my mind anymore. Now they were. The memory of them came sometimes, and this time, I felt very alone. Like I was the only one on the planet. Claire wasn't mad at me like in the dream, but she would sure as hell kill me if I woke her up now for no reason. I just needed someone to take away the loneliness before it became too much. My hand reached out to caress Claire's cheek. She smiled in her sleep. I snuggled up to her and laid my head on the top of her chest. She pet my hair with her hand in a dozy motion that told me she was half-awake. It must have looked like I was going to suck my thumb too, but I just needed someone. That someone would always be Claire. Being a little needy of her touch and love felt good. Feeling her fingers run through my hair in slow motions, the smell of her… It was comforting in a weird kind of way. 'Are you awake?' she whispered. I didn't answer. I just closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep. Maybe faking a few snores would convince her, but oh my… I really wanted to kiss her. Being cuddled up like this was nice and cozy, but I wanted more. Her lips pressed against my forehead carefully and I could tell she was smiling. 'You're a little cutie when you pretend to be sleeping, aren't you?' she teased and nuzzled me. I took the opportunity when her lips were so close. I gave her a quick, tender kiss. 06.30 on a Saturday morning. None of us were going to do anything today, except being with each other. 'Yes, I am,' my reply was. I was on top of her while kissing her neck and cheek. When I got to her lips, she was already prepared so we just… Melted together. I forgot everything about my loneliness and nightmare, I forgot about her pregnancy and all my worries just faded away. It was just her. Her soft lips pressed against mine, and our tongues meeting passionately. We were going on like this for about 10 minutes before she pulled back and gasped for air. She looked up in my eyes and I gave her a warm smile. Her eyes softened and she kissed my nose. 'I love you,' she said and caressed my cheek. 'I love you too,' I whispered into her ear. 'Why do you have to look so good?' she asked annoyed and ran her hands down my chest. I grinned while giving her another kiss. 'You're not going anywhere today,' I said and pressed my lips against hers. She pulled back though. 'I have to go to the paramedics to get another pregnancy test. I have to be sure…' she mumbled. My stomach dropped a little. I rolled off her and lied down next to her. 'Are we keeping the baby?' I asked and stared up at the ceiling. Claire's pregnancy had wakened up feelings that I didn't know I had. Feelings I couldn't describe. I thing it was a mixture of excitement, anxiety and panic. Excitement because, oh well, I had been dreaming about having a daughter (or a son) for a while now. Anxiety, since if we had the baby, it would be possible for me to fail protecting it. Panic, because the second the baby would be born… Bye, bye freedom and privacy. No more spontaneous dates, make out sessions or anything like that. I wanted to wait for another few years, but still I wanted it so badly I couldn't breath. 'I don't know. I want it, but still I don't want it. Do you understand?' she said with a low, thinking voice. 'You have no idea how much I understand that,' I replied and turned my head to look at her. She was still staring up at the ceiling. She looked a little bit relieved. 'Promise me that you'll support me no matter what I choose,' she whispered. There were tears pricking in the corner of her eyes and one fell down. It hit the pillow and left a little, wet mark on her pillow. 'I do. Please stop doubting me, Claire. I love you so much it hurts, and I won't ever leave. I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere. I need you to know and believe that,' I have no idea where those poetic words came from, 'cause damn, I sounded like one of those guys in those movies Claire forced me to watch. I even hugged her and kissed the top of her head. Who's the man? I am. 'I don't doubt you, Shane,' she said and turned to look at me. It did sound like she doubted me, but I didn't want an argument. I was seriously trying to cut down my fighting. Both 'fighting' fighting and the small fights I had with Claire and the other residents of the Glass House. Which… Reminded me of the fact that we would probably have to move out. Fuck.

There was an everlasting silence between us. She had snuggled up on my chest and I was stroking her hair. Normally, it would have been peaceful and cozy, but this time there were anxiousness and stress lying upon us. There was no way it would be strong enough to build walls between us, but one never knows. She was most likely thinking of the same stuff as me. The baby, moving out, how our relationship would turn out and how hard her dad would choke me when he got told Claire was pregnant. Probably really, really, _really_ hard. Fuck. 'Do you want to go for a walk with me?' I asked. 'It's still dark,' she remarked. 'Well, just a chance for me to kick some vampire ass, then,' I said. 'You promised to cut down on the fighting,' she reminded. My lips kissed the top of her head and the scent of her went in my nostrils. 'Yeah, and that's a promise I intend to keep, my lady,' I said. She smiled up at me and looking at that smile… It was like seeing a light in a big, black tunnel. 'You're beautiful,' I blurted and kissed her. Her cheeks blushed a bit and that made her even more adorable. My heart did a little jump when she rolled on top of me and pressed her lips against mine. It was just a fast and sweet kiss, but she stayed on top of me. Looking into my eyes. I was so hopelessly in love with this girl that I had lost all my wit. What would happen when, or if, I had another person to protect? My life would change. Having a baby was supposed to be a good thing, a blessing.

'We need to talk about this. Stop distracting me,' my voice was husky and I was fighting to hold back my sexual fantasies. She thought about it for a few seconds before she nodded and rolled off me. 'I think keeping the baby is the right thing to do,' she said and looked down at the sheets of our bed. We were silent for a few minutes before I took a deep breath and met her eyes. 'I guess we're going to be parents then,'

_3 weeks later_

'Didn't I ask you to get dressed? Shane, my parents could be here any second!' Claire yelled at me and took my Xbox controller. Zombies snapped my neck and my brain rolled out of my skull. Game over. She was purple with rage and if she'd been a cartoon, I'm sure there would have been smoke coming out of her nostrils. 'Calm down! I'm going,' I said and stood up. 'I've picked out appropriate clothes for you. They're lying on your bed,' she sighed and pointed at the stairs. I smiled and gave her a wet kiss on the cheek before jogging upstairs.

When I came down, Claire was busy with setting the table. She had cooked steak and a bunch of other things. Including some vegetables that I had no idea what's called. Of course, I would eat some of them just to make a good impression on her parents. God, I felt like a 5 year old. 'You're going to be on your best behavior all night,' she commanded. 'Arf, arf,' I said sarcastically and leant my arms on the back of a kitchen chair. 'Be nice, Shane. I mean it,' she said and sent me the 'look.' I nodded and took a cooked carrot of the veggie plate, dipped it in the sauce and ate it. She groaned annoyed and took my arm before looking up in my eyes. 'I love you,' I said and kissed her forehead before giving her a cute smile. She softened a little. 'Please don't screw up tonight. It's really important, you hear me? Oh, and I love you too,' she said the first two lines with a serious mask, but the last came out softly and sweet. Instead of answering, I just bent down and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. Her lipgloss tasted like strawberries. Just when the kiss was about to get hot, there were knocking on the door. She pulled back instantly and ran to open. 'Claire! Wait!' I said and took her arm to force her stopping. 'What?' she turned around and looked at me with impatient eyes. 'Please don't let them kill me,' I begged and looked at her. She took a deep breath and gave me a quick kiss. 'You'll be fine. Go fix up the kitchen. I'll be there in a sec, okay?' I sighed and nodded. The smile she gave me made the kitchen duty worth it, though.

'So, Shane. I haven't heard from you in a while. What have you been up to?' Mr. Collins asked and took a red napkin from his plate to clean his mouth. His eyes were grey and cold and they were staring at me. Waiting patiently for me to answer. Geez, he was worse than Amelie. I cleansed my throat. 'Well, uhm… Nothing much, really,' I said and looked up and down from my plate, my eyes flickering nervously. Claire reached for my hand under the table. Our fingers met and it made me relax a little. The judgment in Les' eyes was annoying me. He was sure as hell thinking that I was one of those lazy jerks who just lied on the couch all day. 'No work? You're not studying or something?' he said with an ice-cold voice. I swallowed and squeezed Claire's hand under the table. The fact that I was married to his daughter didn't seem to make him accept me. 'He has a job, dad,' Claire spoke and sent her dad a pleading look. Probably pleading him not to ask about my job. Maybe she was embarrassed of it. Not that my work as a meat chopper was something to proud of. 'This food is delicious!' Claire's mom, Kate blurted. Claire gave her a full-on warm smile. 'Thanks. It's your recipe. I added a little spice, though,' Claire said. Our plan had been to tell her parents that she was pregnant, but things weren't going that great between her dad and me.

Through the dinner, I let Claire do the talking while I just smiled and ate the food. God, I was trying to be polite. However, when we had eaten the dinner, Claire stood up to go find the desert. I automatically stood up to stalk her into the kitchen. There was no way in hell I was staying alone with her parents for even a minute. She hesitated for a moment but I tagged along anyway. When we got into the kitchen she looked up at me. 'Why are you so quiet? You've been sitting there staring at your plate almost all night,' she whispered and touched my cheek in a caress. 'They hate me, you know. Oh, and your dad scares me,' I said and went to the fridge to take the pie out. 'Are you kidding me? My dad is a sweet guy, he's just… Territorial. Remember, I'm still his little girl,' she said and kissed my cheek. I was one of the most territorial guys I knew. That didn't mean I hated her dad. Okay, bad comparison. 'When are you telling them that you're pregnant?' I asked and looked down at her stomach. There was an almost invisible bump there. I'd seen it when we were in bed together. Really small, but still, it was there. Our baby. Her cheeks flushed a little and she looked away. 'Soon. I just don't think this is the right time…' she started. 'Well, are you going to wait until they are about to go home? Like, just say it to them on their way to the car and then smack the door and lock it?' I smiled. That sounded like an incredible idea. 'No! It's just that… I'm scared,' she said and pulled at her sweater sleeve, which was like her nervous tick. I looked down at the pie that she had baked and put it on the small table we had in the kitchen. My arms went around her and embraced her in a hug. 'Don't be. I can be scared enough for us both, okay?' I said and kissed her forehead. She smiled a little and nodded. 'Yeah, come on. They're probably wondering what's taking us so long,' she said and took the pie.

'Mom, dad… We have an announcement to make,' Claire said and looked up from her dessert bowl, right at her parents. Why did she have to say 'we?' I hid a sigh and embraced myself for the worst that could possibly happen. Her parents went silent and looked at her. No strike that, they looked at _us_. Les was probably wishing she would say we were getting divorced, but her mom seemed… Rather worried. 'What is it, sweetie?' Kate asked with a soft mommy-like voice. Claire cleansed her throat and met my gaze. I nodded slightly and smiled a little at her. 'We're having a baby.' Once the words were out, silence filled the air. Claire had found my hand under the table and she was clenching it so hard that I was worried something was going to break.

_Claire_

'We're having a baby.' A big relief went through her when the words were spoken, but it faded quickly when she saw her parent's faces. 'A baby? With him?' her dad finally said. There was so much anger in his voice that she worried it might break. 'Yes, dad,' she said and looked him straight into the eyes. Les shook his head in what looked like disappointment. 'Are the two of you thinking through any of the things you do?' he asked with a voice that was controlled, but trembling of rage. Claire had no idea what to say but, luckily, her mum spoke up. 'Les, calm down. This is not good for your heart, sweetie,' she touched his upper arm and looked at him. Claire felt tears pricking in her eyes and her sight started blurring. A worried Shane moved closer to her and placed a warm hand on her thigh. 'I will not calm down! Claire, I can't believe you're being so irresponsible of your own life. I'm so disappointed in you,' he said. She felt the first tear fall. She had thought her parents would be happy for her. Instead, her dad was yelling at her and telling her that she was a disappointment. 'It's all right. Claire, sweetie, don't cry,' Shane whispered. He had moved from the corner to sit right by her side. 'Leave my daughter alone!' Les shouted at him. Claire tugged onto his shirt to make him stay, even though he didn't move. 'Your daughter is my wife. You just hurt her feelings. I have the right to comfort her,' he said and looked at Claire's dad. It sure as hell did take a lot of courage for Shane to do that, but Claire appreciated it. A lot. 'I'll tell you one thing…' Mr. Danvers started. 'Les, we're going home. I'm just going to have a word with Claire. Why don't you go wait in the car?' Kate said and held him in place. He seemed to be thinking about it for a little while, but then he nodded and stood up.

When her dad was gone, Claire found herself crying in Shane's arms. He held her tight and whispered soothing words into her ear. There weren't sobbing, just silent tears. 'Honey, I'm sorry for your dad's behaviour. You know he isn't disappointed in you, don't you?' Mrs. Danvers came and placed a hand on her shoulder. 'I don't want this to be a choice between Shane and dad. I'm sick of him acting like this! He couldn't even be happy for me at my own wedding day!' she exclaimed and went out of Shane's warm arms. The cold of the room made her shiver. How did Shane manage to stay so warm all the time? 'Sweetie, it isn't a choice. We all know that your dad isn't that fond of Shane. You're still his little girl. You're our daughter and it's hard to let go,' her mum said. Claire's heart was broken and she hadn't been this frustrated in a very, very long time. Shane put his hand up to remind them he was still there. 'Why can't he just accept him? Shane has never done anything to hurt me,' Claire said. It was kind of a lie. He had hurt her a few times, but it had never been his intention! He had always tried to make it up to her. Actually, all the times she had been hurt by him could be counted on one hand. The last year, her dad had hurt her more. 'I would never hurt you,' Shane said and kissed her cheek. Claire smiled at him and let him wipe her tears. 'I know you would never hurt her, Shane. Unfortunately, Les isn't that… convinced. He thinks you hit her,' her mum said and looked at Shane. Claire felt him tense and she knew he didn't know what to say. She stood up and looked straight at her mother. 'Shane does _**not**_ hit me. He doesn't hurt me in any way. He protects me and I love him. Do you really think I would have stayed with him if he was using me as a living punch bag?' Claire yelled. Anger was bubbling inside her and she was tense and so filled with adrenalin that she was shaking. 'I know, sweetie. Calm down. I know Shane is a good guy. I really have to go now, call me Claire. Or skype me… I want to talk to you a little while you're alone,' Kate said and gave Claire a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. 'I will, mom. Take care,' she said and hugged her again. Then Kate walked out of the house and Claire and Shane could hear the car start and drive away.

'Well, it could have been worse?' Shane tried. Claire shook her head and laid down on the couch feeling exhausted. She felt the weight change beside her when Shane dropped down next to her. 'Dad's angry with me and mom thinks I'm going to fast with you. I probably am,' she sighed. Shane placed an arm around her and shrugged. 'I don't think we're moving too fast. Sometimes things just happen, and when things happen, we just have to go along with them,' Shane surprised her by saying. He wasn't really one to talk wisely or deeply about anything to anyone. 'I'm scared,' Claire whispered and looked up in Shane's brown, soft eyes. It was true. She was terrified of what the birth would be like, how her parent's would deal with this, how they themselves were going to cope with all this and… Everything had just gotten serious somehow. She had always taken Shane and their relationship serious, but now it was clear there was no way back. Not that she wanted one, but when it had been there it had been comforting. She loved Shane, and that was something she couldn't see going away in the future. 'I know,' he replied simply. They didn't kiss each other they just sat there. Thinking together in silence.

**I can't believe it took me this long to update. I'm really sorry! And of course, I had to promise everyone that I would be writing super-duper much during the Christmas holiday. I'm the shittiest liar ever and I apologize. Please stay with me, readers! I hope this story is here to stay. I want it to be finished and I'm going to take my time. ._. Don't shoot me if I don't update in the near future, 'cause I promise I will try!**


	4. Chapter 4

4

Eve's POV

'What do you mean with that you don't want this?' I screamed in his face and placed both hands on his chest to try giving him a push. Even without his vampire strength, Michael was a big guy. 'Eve, please listen! I didn't say I didn't want this. It's just…' he started off. There was no way in hell I was going to let him finish. I was too angry to let him say anything more. We were keeping our baby and we were starting a family, case closed. I just needed him to understand that this wasn't even a discussion. 'No, don't you dare say you didn't say what you said. I heard you, Michael! We're not moving anywhere too fast! Hell, Michael, we've been tip toing in turtle-speed since kindergarten! It took you 18 years before you even dared to kiss me!' I yelled and stared up at him with annoyed eyes. 'I know, sweetie. I just don't think I'm ready to start a family,' he said and looked at me with those pleading, blue angel eyes. I stared back at him with determined eyes that were black of anger and sorrow. My hand stroke over my stomach and my eyes found their way down to the slowly growing bump on it. My baby. Michael's baby. 'No! This case is closed, Michael! I'm not taking an abortion. You can't force me to kill my child. God, why do we even argue about this? This is all we ever wanted!' I said with tears in my eyes. The words he replied were not the ones I wanted or needed to hear. 'No, Eve. It's all you ever wanted,' he almost whispered and turned his back to me. It took me ten Nano-seconds to realize he was heading for the door. Hell, he was so not leaving me. He was staying even if that meant I had to tie him up, handcuff him and lock him down in the basement. Desperate? No, territorial. 'Where do you think you are going?' I said with a sharp voice while stalking after him. 'Out,' he replied simply and finished buttoning his green coat. God, he looked handsome in that green coat. 'Excuse moi. Do you really think I'm going to let you out of the house? Not only have you lost your common sense, now you're blind as well. It's 11p.m! It's. Fucking. Dark. Outside!' I said and tried grabbing hold of his arm. 'I can take care of my self, thank you,' he spit at me. My tough attitude wasn't going down, but when he talked to me like that… It broke my heart. Like, shattered it. Smashed it, chopped it up, threw it in the wall or chewed it just to spit it out, whatever. The point is that it hurt. Really bad. 'Stay here! I love you Mike, but sometimes you're a coward from another dimension,' I said annoyed and finally got his hand in mine. His fingers met mine and I looked up in his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out with a raspy sigh. 'Why are you always so stubborn?' he asked and his eyes were filled with both annoyance and admiration. I shrugged. 'Because of Lilo and Stitch and 'ohana.' Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind or forgotten. Which leads me back to the discussion where I'm telling you once again that I'm not killing our baby.' I saw him fighting to not roll his eyes. Lilo and Stitch was my favourite Disney movie, and I had forced him to watch it with me like… A hundred times or something. Probably a thousand, but who counts? 'I don't want to get rid of the baby. I'm just saying I'm not ready for it,' he said. I shrugged again. 'Sounds like the same thing to me. But I've said what's going to happen, and you have no choice but to tag along with it. I swear, if you leave me, I will hunt you down and drag you back to the house and hide you in the basement until you sign a fucking contract where you promise you won't leave me again,' I said. He loosened up a bit and closed the distance between us. His warm, strong arms went around me to embrace me in a hug. I hugged him back, even though I was mad at him. 'I'm not leaving you, Eve. I'm not going anywhere, stop being scared you'll loose me,' he mumbled into my ear. A wave of relief went through me and it felt like a stone sized Mount Everest got removed from my stomach. For a second, he really had me thinking he was leaving. Escaping, finding a new place. Well, of course, Shane would have killed him for running away. So would Claire, and I would probably have kicked his ass until he agreed to come home with us. I wouldn't have killed him, though. That would have been one of those front page news-paper stories. I could already see them with big, fat letters. _**Woman killed husband after fight. **_Good thing that wasn't happening in the near future. I hugged him tighter and let my hand play with his blonde hair. 'I love you. Now please tell me that we're keeping the baby. Please,' I practically begged. I also pulled a little back so I could look up in his eyes. He sighed again. 'We're keeping the baby,' he said defeated. I grinned like a Cheshire cat and kissed him. He kissed me back, and of course, he was smiling too. We were going to be parents!

_Shane_

'I think they're done now,' I said to Claire and looked at her. We had cuddled up in her bed and we were watching some kind of movie just to try ignore the fight downstairs. Claire sighed in relief and placed her head on my chest. I smiled at her and enjoyed how peaceful she made me feel. My hand stretched out to caress her stomach. She smiled and closed her eyes. 'I wonder how having a baby will be like,' she whispered. I took the TV remote and turned off the movie. None of us were watching it anyway. 'It will be exhausting, we'll be so tired we can barely stand and we will have no privacy what so ever,' I said and rolled on top of her, careful not to lay to much weight on her stomach. She let out a little laugh. 'I know, but besides that. How it'll be to know it's no longer just the two of us,' her hand stroke my cheek in a soft motion that made me shiver. I kissed her lips carefully with just a slight nibble. She bit her bottom lip and caressed me again. 'I need to talk to you about something,' she almost whispered. My alarms went on and I sensed that she was worried. 'Uhm, okay. What's wrong?' I asked and rolled off her. 'You know that night when I got attacked by that dragon thingy?' she reminded me. I nodded slowly and tried getting rid of the images of my Claire lying in my lap with cuts and damages everywhere. How I'd failed to protect her when she needed me the most. God, how I would never be able to forgive myself for that. 'I don't think that the one we killed were the only one,' she said. I still didn't know what had happened that night. Claire had just told me about Jesse and how she'd heard her voice. 'What do you mean?' I asked with a stern voice. It hadn't occurred to me before now that there might be more monsters than the one we killed. 'I don't know… I just keep having these dreams,' she said. A wave of relief washed through me. Dreams. She had only been dreaming. Dreams weren't real and I could relax. 'Dreams are dreams. You haven't seen any more of them, have you?' I said and looked at her. She shook her head as a reply. 'Then don't scare me like that,' I sighed and looked at her. She crawled closer to me and placed her arms around my neck. Then she pressed her lips against mines and my arms went around her. My tongue stroked her bottom lip carefully to ask for entrance. She let me in and it was on.

Claire woke me up that night. If she hadn't, I would have woken up myself. It just would have been worse and I would have felt more alone. Her hands were stroking down my chest and she was looking at me with her brown, beautiful but worried eyes. When she realized I wasn't going to talk, she didn't move. She kept trying to comfort me, and it felt nice. It didn't work, but it was nice that she was trying. 'You should talk to me, Shane. I think it would help you,' she whispered. Of course, I wasn't going to do that. I never talked to her about my nightmares. Or my past that made me keep having them. I swallowed my panic and sorrow to be able to sit up. 'I'm fine. I can deal with it and I'm better off on my own,' I said. Probably a little too cold, because she looked hurt. 'Then why do I even bother,' she whispered with a small voice before turning in the bed and try to fall asleep again. My heart broke a little, but it was broken already, so it didn't really matter. What mattered was getting the nightmare out of my head.

Alyssa. What wouldn't I have done to get her back? Her brown, soft hair and snarky comments. My little sister that I would never see again. The fact that she was gone made me want to choke myself. God, how I missed her. Even though missing her just had become a part of my life, it still hurt. Not all the time, but most of it. Claire was the only one whom I had loved and cared about for real since Lyssa. Still I kept pushing her away.

My night had been pretty sleepless, but I hadn't bothered to get up either. Claire was sound asleep next to me. I didn't touch her, even though I wanted to. My brain was too busy thinking about what I'd lost. Hell, I hated when I let my self drown in my own self-pity. All I wanted was to go looking for trouble and fights or go get drunk. Neither of them were things I considered acting like a responsible grown-up. Claire could distract me, but she was asleep. And probably mad at me for not telling her about my feelings. Guys don't talk about feelings. If we did… We'd be girls, right?

Time passed by slowly and my fists clenched when I thought about how good it would feel to go pick up a fight. Let out all my feelings in punches and pain. Just like my dad felt. Just that he would take it out on anyone. Me, my mom, himself, the couch, whatever. As long as it could break. That was the difference between my father and me. I would never hit Claire or Eve. Michael, probably. But he didn't count. I wouldn't hurt him without a reason. Was there somebody who had done something that made them deserve a fight with me? I thought hard about it for a while. There were plenty of alternatives, but all of them would get me in jail or put in a cage to burn. I could always go out and search for some guys who would give me an insult or a challenge. That made a fight fear and natural. I'd done it before. Plenty of times. I could do it now as well. Just to get rid of the feels.

When I was dressed and on my way out, Claire woke up. 'Where are you going?' she asked with worry in her voice. I hesitated for a moment. I didn't want to lie to her. 'I'm going out,' my reply was. Not a smart one, since Claire turned on the light just to see my weapon bag. Nothing big, just a knife and a few stakes in case it would be needed. 'Shane, come here,' she said with a stern voice. I swallowed and shook my head. 'No, I'll be back soon. I just need some air,' I said. Claire was smart and she wasn't fooled at all. 'It's in the middle of the night. You're carrying a weapon bag. Why?' she asked and got out of bed to walk up to me. Her hands took the weapon bag off my shoulder and dropped it down on the floor. I didn't want to answer why I was going out in the middle of the night with a weapon bag. It would make her hate me. 'You weren't supposed to wake up,' were the only words I managed to say. 'Well, that much I have understood. I you think I'm going to let you go anywhere now that I'm awake, you're messed up,' she said and touched my upper-arm with a careful motion. I was messed up. I just didn't want her to know about all of the shit that kept growing inside me would never be removed. Not even by her light touch or love. My anger was suddenly replaced by loneliness and sorrow. Great. She had some kind of control over me that I couldn't understand.

'You worry me, Shane,' she whispered without taking her eyes off me. I didn't want to worry her. I wanted to kiss her. Kiss away everything take away the pain. I wanted it to be just the two of us. 'Don't worry for me. I'm fine,' I lied. It was a lie, since I didn't feel fine. Not at all. I felt like I had felt when my mother died. When I was walking down the streets like a tramp looking for a good fight. 'No you're not. Come here,' she said and intertwined her fingers with mines. 'I am too. Just let me go,' I pleaded her. 'Why do I even try talking to you? You clearly won't listen. Get yourself together, Shane! Snap out of whatever you're in right now. I want my husband back,' she said and let go of my hand. I swallowed and cupped her face with gentle hands. 'I can't deal with this anymore. I love you. I really do. Please, Claire. Help me,' I whispered. Well, that shocked me. It was not something I had expected to say. I had never asked for help like that. My voice had been so desperate, longing and scared. None of those things should ever be in my voice. 'What's wrong, sweetie? Is there something I've done? Honey, please talk to me,' she begged and tried loosing me up with touching me and stroking her hands over my arms. 'I'm sorry. I'm just messed up, nothing you didn't know before,' I sighed as I went to sit on the edge of the bed. Badass pose with my head in my hands to force myself looking down at the floor. Why did I have to be such a drama queen? Couldn't I just tell her all about my 'feelings' or whatever was on my mind? Of course, I'd have to take away my eagerness to go hit someone in the face without any good reason but to satisfy myself. Typical Collins. 'You're not messed up. Or, I guess we're all messed up. Cause, hey, Morganville. But if it's for any comfort, you're not more messed up than everybody else,' she said and sat down next to me. Her hand was placed on my shoulder and she was looking at me. 'Oh, and you're scaring me, by the way. I mean it, Shane. Talk. It's killing me to see you like this,' she whispered weakly. 'I love you,' was all I managed to say. 'I know. I love you too, but either you talk or you go to your own bedroom. Capish?' she said slightly annoyed. Her patience was clearly gone, but what had I suspected? 'I just miss her so much. Everything about her. Her smile, her hugs, her voice, everything about her,' I said with a broken voice. 'Whom are you talking…' Claire started, sounding a little offended. Like I was talking about some ex-girlfriend. I wasn't and she realized that quickly. 'Honey, are you talking about Alyssa?' she whispered and stared at me. I still had my head in my hands. Instead if answering, I just nodded. Claire hugged my side and kissed my cheek. 'Why were you on your way out? Just to look for trouble or was there something more to it?' God, she knew me well. Sometimes it felt like she knew me better than I knew myself. Still, had there been more to it than just wanting to wash out the mental pain in some pain I could deal with? The physical pain was something I could enjoy. Love. Claire would hate me if she knew how much pleasure I could get out of hurting people. It wasn't healthy and I was screwed up. At least I knew that I was a psycho. My dad didn't know what he was. Me and my dad. I was turning into him slowly now. I could feel all the hate that Claire had pushed away for a so long time coming back. It was building up slowly and I couldn't get it away. I didn't want it to go away. That scared me.

_Claire_

Poor Shane. Claire felt so bad for him that she didn't know what to do. The last thing she wanted was for him to go out and get himself hurt, or worse. Killed. There was obviously something going on with him. He usually didn't push her away like he had done that night. They loved each other, and at their wedding, they had promised to stay together no matter what.

The evening before had been so peaceful and he had been so loving and caring… Then she had woken up by him shivering and throwing himself around in the bed while mumbling restlessly. She had woken him up and gotten shocked by the panicked look in his eyes. Then he'd refused to talk to her and she couldn't help but feeling pushed away and ignored. Which wasn't appropriate behaviour when she knew how much he struggled with those bad dreams. Now, however, he was talking. At least a little bit. He was admitting he missed his sister and he looked like he was dying inside. Claire knew he missed Alyssa, but he so rarely talked about it that she had just though he was okay. Of course he wasn't. Lately, his nightmare amount had increased dramatically. He had them every other night now. Why was that? He had been sleeping like a baby for months without anything, then suddenly, PANG, and he was back to restless land.

'It's okay, sweetie,' she soothed even though it wasn't okay. She couldn't get his family back, but she could give him a new one. Not to replace what he once had. She was pregnant with his baby. They were going to be parents. Her and Shane. 'I'm sorry,' he whispered and looked up at her. 'For what?' she rubbed his shoulder slowly to make him relax. 'For waking you up and for pushing you away,' he rubbed his eyes and sighed. 'Don't be. Everybody struggles with something. I just want to be there for you,' she said and gave him a shy smile before giving him a small kiss on the lips. His mouth opened to say something, but he closed it. Then he looked like he regretted and was scared of something. Also, he wondered if he should tell her what was on his mind, but he didn't. 'Don't ever leave me. Please promise me that,' he said quietly and met her eyes. 'I promise I won't,' she said without leaving his eyes for a second. 'I love you,' she said. 'I love you too,' he was about to kiss her when she pulled a little back. 'I love you three,' she smiled and let him kiss her.

**Yey! This chapter was up fast, wasn't it? Well, I haven't posted a chapter since last year * ****wink, wink* so I thought it was time to just post it. Happy new year, by the way! 2014, here we come! :D Oh, and thanks for no reviews. Appreciate it. (A little hurt) I hope I'll get some new readers/followers/favourites during 2014. I have to admit I'm a little disappointed. **

**Anyways, I decided to show you a new side of Shane. I don't know about you guys, but to me it seems like he's not exactly peaceful in the books. That's why I wanted to write a little about his feelings. I hope it's not to unrealistic. :/ I also decided to give you a little Michal/Eve 3 Tell me if you want more of them, by the way.**

**Have a nice week, people! I'm going to write more when I have time for it. This chapter is a normal 10 pages chapter if it had been a book. Last chap was almost twice as long, please don't kill me. X) Hope you enjoy reading! Tips are appreciated as always. **


	5. Chapter 5

5

Amelie

'Oliver, what brings you here?' I asked and turned my chair to face him. A part of me started to worry if my hair looked pretty, but I shut that part up as fast as I could. No time for such childish worries. 'What a warm welcoming, my Queen. Why should there always be a reason for me to come by?' he grinned. 'So, nothing is going on? Are you just searching for company?' I asked and raised my eyebrow at him. 'No, I never said nothing was going on,' he said. His grin disappeared immediately as he sat down in the chair in front of my desk. 'Do not play games with me, Oliver. If there is something wrong, you tell me right away,' I said with my iciest voice. My heart was not in the coldness, but I hoped he did not notice. 'Well, the last week 4 humans have been murdered by some kind of dragon like thing. As you might already know, Claire was attacked for about a month ago,' Oliver said. I nodded slightly as I pulled up my notebook and my feather pen. Then it was Oliver's turn to raise his eyebrows. 'Do you really still use a feather pen?' he said and napped the pen out of my hand to take a look at it. 'Give it back to me, Oliver,' I hissed and tried taking in back. He met my eyes and moved the pen out of my reach in a teasing way. Just to see how much patience I had with him, which was more than I would ever like to admit. 'Back to the case, Amelie,' he said, suddenly loosing interest for the pen. I took it and wrote the date. 'Seems like an appropriate choice,' I sneered. To be a 1500-year-old vampire, he was incredibly immature. 'Indeed. Now, where was I before your pen rudely interrupted me…' he tapped his fingers on my desk acting like he was thinking. 'You were talking about some creatures that have murdered 4 humans and attacked Claire Collins,' I said and noted down that Claire had been attacked. Morganville would not be able to work without her, so she had to be protected. Same with her friends, because if something happened to any of them, I would sure loose Claire as well. 'Oh, yes. Yes, yes. The 4 that have been murdered, have of course not been in a proper condition to tell us how the monsters looked. There have been witnesses that have told Hannah Moses a little about the monster's looks. And of course, Myrnin has the creature that the Glass House kids slayed. It is quite interesting, actually,' he said and handed me some papers that were signed by Hannah. The people who had been killed were not important in any kind of way, but still a loss. I did not feel any grief, but I knew the monsters had to be removed as soon as possible. 'How come nobody has told me about this before?' I asked a little grumpy while looking through the papers once again. 'You have had so much to do lately, so I assumed…' he started off. 'No, Oliver. You have no right to assume anything. Waiting until now with sharing these news has put the town in danger. Do you have any idea of what's going to happen if these creatures starts attacking vampires?' I used the vampire part to make him understand. He had no sympathy for humans. Me neither, but I saw the use of them. 'Well, my lady, that is one thing you do not have to worry about. The creatures are showing lack of interests in vampires. They go for blood, just like us vampires,' he said untouched and totally without insight in what I had just said.

I took my pen and I wrote down with big, pretty letters; get rid of monsters.

_Michael_

'Eve, honey, wake up,' I said and gave her shoulder a little shake. She looked dead when she slept. Once, I had actually thought she was dead and I had freaked out. Her eyelids fluttered slightly and she blindly tried to push away my hand. 'Fuck off, I want to sleep,' she muttered. 'Good morning to you too, sunshine,' I grinned and took a coffee cup off the table next to her. It was her favourite cup. All black with pink skulls on it. 'I've brought you coffee,' I tempted and moved it closer to her nose so she would smell it and probably, maybe, wake up. 'I like coffee. How much sugar did you put in?' she mumbled lazily. 'A little bit. Just as you like it,' I smiled. 'Fine. Give it to me,' she said and sat up to take the cup. 'I love you,' I said and kissed her cheek. Her smile lit up the whole room and she snuggled closer to me. 'Love you too, handsome,' she replied and sipped her coffee. I felt like the luckiest man in the world. Even though she had the habit of acting tough and independent, I knew she loved me more than anyone. How the hell did she manage to look so good, even when she'd just woken up, by the way? I bent my head in an almost painful angle, just to be able to kiss her. Totally worth it. She tasted like coffee at first, but after a while the taste of… I had no idea how to describe what kissing her was like or what it tasted. Shane had told me that kissing Claire tasted strawberries and sweet. There was no berry taste when I kissed Eve, but it was still amazing. Better than any berry or fruit in the world. To be honest, she tasted better than anything in the whole world. And she was mine. No guy would ever have the pleasure of kissing her like this but me.

After an eternity of tongue wrestling, Eve managed to spill the rest of her coffee all over my shirt. Well, I'll have to admit that it was kind of my fault, since I had tried to rip her t-shirt off while the cup was in her hands. She pulled back and started laughing like crazy. 'It's not funny! This is my favourite t-shirt,' I complained and looked down at my t-shirt that was more brown than white now. 'Oh my God, you're such a girl! I'll wash it for you later, so don't worry. You don't need it now anyway,' she smiled and raised her eyebrows. I grinned and pulled it off. Then I took her top off. 'Oh, where are Claire and Shane by the way?' she asked. 'They're at the hospital to check on the baby and get the first X-ray thingy. Shane seemed happy about it, so I guess it's nothing wrong,' I shrugged and stated kissing her neck. Eve, however, pulled back instantly. 'Why didn't you wake me up? I can't believe they went without me! I wanted to come,' she complained and jumped out of bed, throwing on some clothes. I couldn't help but feeling a huge disappointment. We had the house to ourselves and she really had me thinking we were going to have some grown-up fun. Before I managed to say anything, she was already out of the room and on her way to the bathroom and I was left in her room with false expectations and a dirty t-shirt.

_Claire_

'Do you want to see the picture?' the nurse asked her. Shane was standing by her side at the ultrasound table, looking prouder than she'd ever seen him. Both were nodding like crazy. 'Yes, please,' Claire said and smiled brightly while squeezing Shane's hand and looking up at him. Their gazes met and she warmed up inside by the love in his eyes. 'Alright, just wait here for a minute while I go get the print,' the nurse smiled and walked off.

'I can't wait to see her!' Claire smiled and sat up at the table. Shane raised his eyebrows while smiling back. 'Her? Do we get to know the gender today?' he asked. Claire shook her head and looked down at her stomach. There really was a little bump on it now, and it felt like it was growing everyday. 'Not today. I think we'll have to wait for another two or three months,' she said and touched her baby bump. Her hand pulled back instantly when she touched the creepy jelly that they had smeared all over her stomach. Yuck, that was not something she appreciated. Shane, however, looked like a sad puppy when he got to know how long it would take to know who really was inside her. 'Aw, cheer up, honey. At least we get to see a picture today,' she smiled and touched his cheek lightly. He made a weird grimace and took her hand away carefully and not in an offensive way. 'Ew, what's that thing on your hand? It's gross,' he said and looked at her hand that was now in his. 'It's the jelly thingy they smeared all over my stomach, remember?' she said. He bent down so his lips almost touched hers. 'I should check that you haven't gotten some of it on your lips…' he whispered intimately and pressed his lips against hers. Just when the kiss had begun to start, the nurse was back with their baby ultrasound. 'Wow, wow, hit the breaks people. Or, I could always come back when you're a little less busy,' she smiled. Claire couldn't help but notice how weird that was. Nurses never smiled. Well, no one ever really smiled in public in Morganville. Shane pulled back and Claire tried to dry off her red and swollen lips. Shane was just sitting there with his angelic expression with no evidence that showed they'd been kissing. The nurse placed the picture on the table next to them and Claire sat up to take a closer look. Shane smiled and placed his arm around her. 'This is your baby,' she said and pointed at it. Claire felt teary eyed and when she looked up at Shane, she wasn't surprised to see that he was looking teary eyed too. She stroke her finger carefully over the picture and smiled through her tears. 'That's our baby,' she whispered to Shane and he kissed her quickly on the lips before he hugged her. That moment, Claire would never forget. The pure happiness and love. It was… perfect. All perfect, and nothing could be better than it.

After getting her stomach washed and they'd paid for the visit, they decided to walk home. It was all sunny and nice, so they though they would be pretty safe.

'I love you, Claire. Have I ever told you that?' Shane smiled and kissed the side of her head while holding her tight. 'Plenty of times,' Claire smiled and walked up in front of him so she could kiss him. Bad time worse planned. A bunch of guys were walking past them and one of them grabbed her butt. She flinched and tried to bust the one who'd done it. Shane did not seem pleased; actually he looked rather pissed off. 'Hey, what did you just do to my girl?' he said and let go of her so he could turn around to face the guys. Claire had seen the guy who before. She thought his name was Brady or something. 'I just squeezed her ass. You have a fine girlfriend, by the way. It was really good to do her,' he shrugged. Shane was practically trembling of rage and he sure as hell was seeing red. 'She's my wife. Now, shut the fuck up before I beat your asses,' Shane threatened. Claire placed a hand on his upper-arm to warn him. There was one of him and 5 of Brady and his gang. The odds were not in Shanes favour, and Brady seemed to know and take advantage of it. 'Uh, I'm scared bad boy. Whatcha' gonna' do? Bitch slap me?' Brady teased. His stupid gang started laughing and Shane pushed Claire's hand off him before giving Brady a punch right in the nose. Brady didn't fall down on the ground like Shane probably had expected. As Claire knew him, he probably had expected his whole gang to run away and be scared of his man-powers. Of course, that was something Claire knew would not be the outcome of his punch. Before she got to warn him or drag him out of the mess he'd just made, two guys were already at him, kicking him and hitting him. Shane tried to hit back and he managed to duck away from many punches that probably would hurt him for the rest of his life, if not kill him. Claire was screaming and trying to make them stop, but nobody listened to her. Instead, one of the guys, who weren't using her husband as a living punching bag, took her purse and started to go through it. Claire couldn't care less about her purse in the heat of the moment, but she didn't appreciate a stranger having his mucky hands in her stuff. Two guys were holding Shane by his arms and he was bent down. She leaped in to take a punch that was aimed right for Shane's mouth. Instead it hit her right in the stomach. She tumbled back and fell while she winced in pain. Shane tried his best fighting himself loose, but he wasn't strong enough. Claire was forced seeing him take punch after punch, kick after kick while she was curled up in a ball leant against a wall.

Brady told them it was enough after what seemed like forever. They let go of Shane immediately and he fell down on his knees coughing and spitting blood. Brady and his gang wandered off while looking proud of what they'd just done. Claire crawled up next to him and tried taking a closer look at his face. 'Shane, sweetie, are you okay?' the question was stupid as hell, but still he nodded and tried sitting up properly. He winced in pain and fell back, though. 'This sucks,' he muttered and tried again, this time he actually made it. Still, his face looked messed up with blood and bruises. She didn't think she would dare to look at his chest or arms after this. 'Are you hurt?' he suddenly asked. He sounded panicked and worried, which she found annoying. There he was, bleeding from every place that could bleed, still he asked if she was okay. Actually, he even sounded like he felt bad for not asking before. 'I'm fine, idiot. Look at yourself! Can you even stand?' she said and placed an arm around him. Even that made him groan in pain.

_Shane_

No matter how much I loved a good fight, I still didn't exactly love the pain I was in. The worst part of it all was that I'd seen one of those bastards hit Claire. Right in the stomach. She was pregnant. Was the baby hurt? Oh if it was, I was going to kill…

_No, Shane. Calm the fuck down. It's your fault. You should have just let it pass like Claire wanted you to do._

Aw, hell no! My common sense didn't make sense. That son of a bitch has been talking about how he'd screwed my wife. I was allowed to go monkey ass crazy and attack him. I was just protecting my wife's pride. She hadn't cheated on me. Once upon a time, I would probably have thought Claire had been cheating, but after she'd left me because I didn't trust her… I just knew she wouldn't do it. Oh, and if she had been cheating, it sure as hell wouldn't be with that psycho.

When I stood up, I wanted to scream in pain. I held it in, though. Claire shouldn't see me hurt. She looked at me with those worried eyes showing pity for me. Of course she did. She was always anxious and worried for me. Like I couldn't handle myself. 'Let's get home,' I sighed and looked down at my knuckles. They were sore after all the punching. Also, they were bleeding. Claire would tell me I had to bandage them up when we got home. Sigh. 'Good idea,' she said and walked over to her purse. She let out a frustrated groan when she went through it. 'Did they take something?' I asked and walked towards her while trying hard not to cry out in pain. 'Just my wallet,' she said sadly before her arms went around me. I leant a little on her so I could take the pressure of my right side.

'You kids need a ride?' a known voice shouted. Claire turned to look who it was and nodded. 'Yes please,' she smiled and let go of me. I almost fell, but fortunately I managed to stand. 'Hey, Hannah,' I grinned and got inside her police car. Claire slid in next to me and placed a hand on my thigh. 'Hey, slacker boy. You look terrible. Whom did you fight with this time?' she asked and looked behind so she could meet my eyes. 'Just some dudes. No big deal,' I shrugged and wiped some blood off my mouth with my jacket sleeve. Then she looked over at Claire. 'What started it?' Now it was Claire's turn to shrug. She didn't want me to get thrown in jail again, so she would probably just lie or say it wasn't that important… 'Well, both of them actually. One of the guys that were walking past us grabbed my butt and Shane got pissed. Unfortunately, it was 5 of them and two of us, so… here we are,' she said. I didn't really expect her to tell the truth, but then I reminded myself that she was an awful liar. For a few seconds I was scared Hannah would give me a fine that I couldn't afford to pay. 'Oh and they stole Claire's wallet,' I said quickly, just to get the odds back in our favour. 'I see. I'll drive you guys back to the Glass house, and there from you can choose whether to press charges or not,' she nodded. Claire smiled and thanked her.

Claire and Hannah talked on the car ride, but I remained silent. My arm had placed itself around Claire and I was looking out the windows. Fighting had felt so incredibly good. It was like all the stress was out of my body and I felt relaxed. Not peaceful, though. I was just craving for more. I tensed up whenever I thought about how great it had been to punch someone. I had missed the rush of adrenaline and anger. Also, I wanted it back. I wanted to go punch someone again. Just harder. Of course, I planned to win my next fight, because this one hadn't gone so well.

_Claire_

'Oh my Gosh, what happened?' Eve asked as she came running towards them. She was looking at Shane with big, round eyes. Michael came straight after, and his gaze also fell down at Shane. 'Man, you look like you just dragged yourself through a jungle,' he said. Shane flipped him off and shoved past them to get into the living room. There he fell down on the couch with a thump.

Claire ran into the kitchen. She let the water run in the sink to get cold while she found a towel in the shelf. When she had wet it, she walked back into the living room to clean her husband's wounds. There was a first aid box under the couch and she opened it. 'Why can you never stay out of trouble? You almost got yourself killed,' she hissed as she cleaned off his hands. They were bloody and bruised, just like the rest of him. 'I'm not going to apologize for this, if that's what you want. Hell, I was just defending you,' he said and closed his eyes. She was scrubbing his wounds, not being too careful, while cleansing them with saline. 'You weren't defending me. You were getting yourself hurt,' she said and started bandaging his left hand. 'No, I wasn't! I was winning!' he said, sounding totally convinced. 'No you weren't. You were loosing! And no matter who won or loose, it's not my point! You didn't have to fight that. I don't freaking need you to fight for me! I told to let it pass, but still you had to pick a fight with those guys. I would have been proud of you if you'd just walked away with me,' she snorted and fastened the bandage on his upper arm so uncarefully that he cried out in pain. Then she stormed upstairs and slammed her bedroom door.

**I know it's kinda short. 3500 words isn't that much, but it's something right? Something's better than nothing. :P Oh, and I got 3 reviews on the last chap! THANK YOU! 3 They made my day. I love feedback on my stories. Especially when people tell me what they like and don't like. Constructive criticism is ****ALWAYS**** appreciated!**

**Love Merisca **


	6. Chapter 6

6

_Claire_

Why did Shane always have to be such a douchebag? Not always, of course, but sometimes he was just acting plain dumb. In one way, she could understand his reaction. She wouldn't have been happy if some girl started to hit on Shane. In fact, she would hate it, despite it and wanted to kill the girl. The difference was that she hadn't killed the girl _literally_. Only in her mind and in her dreams. For a moment, she was tempted to call her mom for advice. Then she remembered how her parents still didn't like him and that she didn't want to oil up the fire. 'Why are boys so stupid?' she groaned and buried her face in her pillow. 'Ugh, I don't know,' Michael answered. She yelped, because Michael was the last one she'd suspected to come into her room. Without KNOCKING! For all he'd known, she could have been changing. 'When did you come in?' she asked and tried to get back the control over her heartbeats. Luckily, Michael couldn't hear that her heart was beating like she'd just been in a gym for hours. 'Right now. I just wanted to ask you something about Shane,' he tried. 'Well, I'm sure that you know more about him than I do these days. He doesn't talk to me anymore,' she mumbled. 'He isn't? But… You guys are talking all the time!' he exclaimed looking confused. 'God Michael. Not _talking_ talking!' she was really not in the mood for talking to anyone. Maybe Eve, but not Michael. He looked at her like he didn't understand a thing of what she'd just said and he probably didn't. Anyways, he shook it off and came with his question. 'Have you noticed anything weird lately? I mean with Shane. Not any of the other creepy stuff.' Claire had a bunch of things that was weird and annoying with Shane. She loved the moron, with all her heart, but sometimes he just pissed her off. One thing that _worried_ her was his nightmares. 'I'm sure he doesn't want you to know, but he's been having some pretty bad dreams lately. He's very restless and he's throwing himself around in the bed all night long. He even cries sometimes when he wake up,' she said quickly. It was good to let it all out. 'Cries, huh?' Michael said and grinned to himself. 'I can't believe that's the only thing you picked up in all that stuff! Don't dare bother him with it. He's really struggling with it,' she said and looked at him with serious eyes. That seemed to make even Michael concerned for his best friend. He wrinkled his forehead and sat down in her desk chair. 'Sorry. He's just been acting weird lately. Like, strange. A week ago I caught him in the middle of the night while he tried sneaking out,' Michael muttered. That shocked her. She'd caught him once too, but taken him back to bed and making him promise he wouldn't go anywhere. 'I busted him two nights ago too,' she said and looked down at the floor. 'Not to upset you, Claire… But… Do you think he's cheating on you?' Michael tried with a careful voice. She almost jumped. ' God no! Of course I don't. He loves me!' she blurted and felt a sudden rage show up inside her. How could he say something like that about his best friend? Maybe she was scared of his words because they made sense… Shane had been crying about some girl. She had thought it was his sister. Now she _hoped_ it was his sister.

'Get out of my girl's room,' Shane coughed when he opened the door and saw Michael. He wasn't being rude or offensive at all. He looked terrible, though. She should probably have taken him to the hospital to check him. Michael stood up and walked out the door after sending Claire a look that said they were going to talk about this later whether she liked it or not. When Michael was out, Shane closed the door and locked it behind him.

He was trying to walk casually, but he was limping like an old man. 'I don't want to speak with you,' Claire lied. The truth was that she was aching to talk with him. All she wanted in the whole world was for him to let out all his feelings and get done with whatever it was that kept bothering him. 'Yes you do,' he smiled a little when he met her eyes. He sat down next to her at the edge of their bed and leant back on his arms. 'What's bothering you?' she asked fiercely. 'What do you mean?' he replied innocently. She was almost crying because she felt so helpless. What the hell was wrong with him? She'd never been this upset with him in her whole life. To see him tear apart after every nightmare, him trying to sneak out and the fact that he was always trying to get violent with someone. It was killing her. 'I can't deal with this anymore, Shane. I don't want to deal with this anymore!' she sobbed. Why didn't he tell her what kept him awake and why he was turning so violent and tense all the time? 'Aw, don't cry!' he pleaded desperately while he hugged her. She fought to get out of his arms but he was too strong. 'There's nothing wrong with me. I'm healthy and all fine. Please, please don't be concerned,' he said and pulled back to look her in the eyes. Claire shook her head in disbelief. Now she was both angry and sad. 'Then I don't want to be with you anymore,' she whispered. He was shocked. All Claire wanted was to take back those words, even though they had to be said.

_Shane_

Excuse me, what did she just say? That she didn't want to be with me anymore? Was she breaking up with me by asking for a divorce? No. She couldn't just have said that. If she had, my whole world would break down. I needed her. I loved her! How could she do this to me?

'Why?' I asked, feeling broken. It would have hurt less if she had just chopped off my arm. 'Because you clearly don't trust me enough to talk to me,' she said coldly. Did that mean that I could still fix it? By just telling her about my nightmares and anger? Oh my, what if that wasn't what she meant? Were we through? Was this something that I couldn't fix? My arms went around her and I pressed her as close as I could. I was panicked and I couldn't think clearly. The only thing that was on my mind was that I had to keep her from leaving. That's why I held her so close to me and so hard. So she wouldn't get out of my arms and pack her bags and leave me behind. That wasn't going to happen. Claire was staying and she would always be my wife. There was no fucking way I was going to go through a divorce with the love of my life. _Just keep her right there. _'Shane, let go of me,' she said sternly. I wasn't, though. 'No. Please don't leave, please don't leave, please don't leave,' I whispered and shut my eyes while hoping I would wake up with the a Claire who loved me by my side. I knew this was harsh reality, though. 'I'll do whatever you want me to, just don't leave me,' I begged. I'd always known I needed her, but I didn't know that I needed her this much. What did I do to make her say she didn't want me anymore? Had I started taking her for granted? Did I treat her too bad? Did I spend to little time with her? My mind tried coming up with a logical solution. That didn't include me telling her stuff that would make her hate me forever. Crap, it was hard. 'Why are you so restless?' she asked and stopped trying to get out of my grip. 'I don't know! I really don't. When I wake up after a bad dream I want to go out to fight someone, to get rid off a feeling I can't get rid off! It disappears when I'm with you or thinking of something else, but then it comes back just worse and stronger. I don't want a divorce, I love you and it hurts so much,' I blurted it all out. Some of it, I didn't even know before I said it. We were silent for a while, and I was still holding on to her like my life depended on it. It kinda did, too. 'Okay. Now that this is settled, let go of me. You're choking me,' she said. I loosened my grip and she moved a little to the side. No, no, no! Why was she moving away from me? I grabbed her hand and looked up in her eyes. 'You won't leave me,' I whispered to convince myself. She shook her head. 'No, I won't,' she said. I leant over to kiss her, but she placed a finger over my lips to stop me. 'But you are going to see someone. A therapist or something.' Red light. Hit the breaks. 'I don't think so! You had me go to Theo to make him help me handle my anger, and I'm not going back there,' I exclaimed and stared at her. I was messed up, but not _that_ messed up. Okay, I probably was that messed up. That didn't mean I was going to go back to some stupid therapy clinic. Nope, don't think so. 'Do you want this to keep happening when we have a baby in the house? Wanting to hurt people in the middle of the night, and actually go out to do so, is not a sign of healthiness. Do you want things to be like before? Like when you were at the gym? I don't,' she explained and looked me straight in the eyes. She was right. Hell, of course she was right! Still, there was a lack of temptation to go to a therapist. 'I promise to be on my best behaviour…' I started off. I was cut off by her shaking her head. 'Nope. You're going, and you'll recover from… Whatever this is. It's for your own best, and it's because I love you,' she said and placed her hand over mine. I looked down at our hands and thought about it for a while. 'Can you do that for me?' she asked sweetly and tried to capture my gaze. I had two choices.

1. Go to the damn therapist and get help.

2. Pissing Claire off so she would have to drag me to a therapist to get help.

Picking number 1 would make life easier for both of us.

'Fine,' I groaned and let myself fall back on the bed. She crawled up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. 'I've got work tomorrow and a few classes, so I guess I should get some sleep,' she said and smiled a little at me. I sighed and nodded. 'I don't mind if you join me,' she said casually. I took it as an invitation and got under the covers with her. She snuggled up to me and I smiled down at her. My stubborn, but beautiful wife. Sometimes I wondered how I could be so lucky. 'Good night,' I whispered. 'Good night. Wake me up if something happens, okay?' she said. I probably took it the wrong way, but it felt like she thought I was some unstable fickle. I could control myself. I had to. If not, our relationship would go to hell.

**Let's skip a month forward in time. Now it's February. Claire is 3 months (14 weeks) pregnant, Eve is 4 months (19 weeks) pregnant. Why? Because I don't want a writers block, and it's easier for me to make things happen. To clean things up a bit; Claire's still in college, but she's graduating for the summer.**

Amelie

During the last weeks, everything had been quiet. I was afraid that it was still before the storm. That was the way it had been before.

Lately, I had been feeling more and more attached to Oliver, which was weird considering his habit to insult me all the time. He was also not a suitable man for me to even find attractive. We had been in some kind if… intimate relationship that had been including sexual intercourse. Only because my blood sister, Naomi, had intended for it to happen, but still it had affected me. It still was on my mind from time to time, which was not appropriate. It was a distraction. Being distracted was not something I could afford. _Keep calm, stay calm, push away, and make them stay away_. I remembered my mother's words, but I couldn't hear her voice say them like I could before. It was all such a long time ago.

'Oliver has appeared. He wishes to speak with you,' my assistant said as she opened my office door. 'Have I not told you to knock on my door before barging in? Next time there might be consequences,' I said coldly without looking up from the papers I pretended to be working on. 'I'm sorry. What do I tell him?' she said. I couldn't help but notice how nervous she seemed. 'Tell him I have no intention to speak with him right now,' I said and looked up to see her nod. Then she was off and I was alone again. The truth was that I was aching to speak with him. That's why I couldn't allow myself to do so. _Be cold, be graceful, be strong, be a queen. _That was how life was supposed to be. I was born a queen, I had died a queen and I had been reborn as a queen. I would not let anyone close enough to change me. Never again.

_Claire_

'Come on, Shane! You have an appointment this morning, get _up_!' Claire shouted and gave his shoulder a brutal shake to wake him up. Instead of opening his eyes, he turned in bed while groaning and placing a pillow over his head. Sometimes, it felt like he wanted to annoy her. Suddenly, a wild idea appeared and she ran off to the bathroom. Or, she tried to run. Lately, her baby bump had grown and her boobs were aching like crazy. The wobbling they did when she ran… God, it felt like she was a 15 year old again. Anyways, she found a bucket and filled it with ice-cold water. Shane would never forgive her for it, and she would probably have to change the sheets, but it would be a small price to pay.

The bucket was heavy, but it would be worth it when she could see Shane's face. 'Last chance to get up,' she warned and rose the bucket over his head. Then she tilted it just to make a tiny little water drop fall out and hit his cheek. 'Claire… What are you…?' he mumbled. Too late, all the water that the bucket had contained was on its way down. Gravity pulling it closer and closer to his face and his eyes shutting open as he lifted his arms to cover himself… As said, it was too late. He got a waterfall of ice water straight in his face. 'What the fuck, Claire?' he yelled as he jumped out of bed. Claire could barely contain herself, and she was laughing like crazy. 'You look like a drowned cat,' she laughed and pointed at him. He, however, didn't look too happy about the situation. 'Why did you do that?' he groaned and took a towel from their closet and started drying his hair and chest. 'You didn't want to get up and I warned you,' she smiled and walked over to him to give him a kiss on the cheek. 'You'll pay for this, Claire,' he grinned with nothing serious in his voice. 'Yeah, I've been a naughty girl, haven't I?' she said and smiled at him while looking up in his deep, brown eyes. 'Yep, you have. Naughty girls get punished, right?' he flirted and started trailing kisses down her cheek and neck. Then he stopped. 'What was that?' he asked and touched her stomach. It was a kick. Everything about appointments, work, punishments and water buckets disappeared. Her hand caressed her stomach softly and she felt like she was going to start crying. Never had the baby kicked before. 'I think the baby just moved inside me,' Claire shined and smiled up at Shane who was on his way to kneel down in front of her. The baby kicked again and Shane kissed her stomach. 'Hey, there,' he said with a soft baby voice. He kept stroking his hand gently over the baby bump. 'I can't believe this is happening,' she whispered when she felt the baby kick right where her hand was. It was amazing. Like, she'd know that a baby was inside her for a long time but it hadn't seemed as real as now. He or she was actually showing that he or she was alive. Shane stood up and lifted her while twirling her around. They both laughed while hugging each other. Their hands were on her stomach. The baby kept kicking for another few minutes before it died away. 'I love you,' Claire said to both her baby and husband. Shane smiled brighter than she'd ever seen him smile before. Then he pressed his lips against hers and they fell into a sweet kiss filled with emotions.

_Shane_

On our way to Theo's office, I couldn't take my eyes off Claire and her baby bump. I was going to be a father. A little boy or girl was going to call me daddy someday. Man, didn't I look forward to holding my baby in my arms? Protect, love and shelter.

'How long are you going to stare at me before you get tired?' Claire groaned. I just smiled and pressed her up against the closest brick wall and kissed her with all my passion. The fact that there were other people walking in the streets too didn't bother me too much. 'Forever,' I said as I pulled a little back to gasp for air. She was blushing a little when she remembered we weren't alone. 'Uhm… Appointment. We should go…' she sounded unwilling, but it was clear we were going. 'Yeah,' I sighed and took her hand in mine.

'So, I believe I have received very little information about this. Do you need therapy as a couple or…?' Theo said. Claire was sitting next to me in the two chairs in front of his desk. He was looking up at us through his glasses. He looked very human. Which was a good thing, I guess. 'No,' I said and leant back in my chair. I really didn't want to be there, even though I knew I had a problem. 'Alright. I'm then assuming you will tell me why you both are here?' he said and looked straight at me. My eyes searched for Claire's, begging her to explain it all. 'I'm leaving soon. I just wanted to make sure he was here,' she took a deep breath before continuing. 'Shane's had a lot of bad dreams lately. For a while, they were almost gone but the last months he's been having them every other night. Sometimes he wakes up and tries to go outside, while he's in an awake condition, to go look for trouble. He's been in a few big fights as well,' she said calmly. I had been sitting there sternly all the time without looking at anyone. I didn't even sit properly I just half lied, half sat there. All I wanted for it all to be over so me and Claire could go back home. 'Well, okay then. I guess you can leave now, Claire,' Theo smiled at her. She returned his smile and before she walked out, she kissed my cheek and touched my shoulder. Probably just to remind me I had to behave.

'So, Shane. What have you been up to lately?' No answer. 'I've heard Claire's pregnant. Congratulations. How many weeks?' No answer. We sat there in silence for a while. I didn't bother to move or look away from the spot I had found in the middle of his desk. 'Do you know whether it will be a girl or a boy?' he asked. I looked up at him. 'If you think I'm going to sit her discussing my private life, you're wrong. I have no interest in being here, just like last time. The only difference is that this time, Amelie won't punish me if I leave your office,' I said. No matter how helpful he had been last time I'd been forced to go there, I didn't want to. 'Oh, I know that. I do believe that if you leave this office Claire won't be happy with you, though. Isn't that some kind of a worse punishment for you?' Theo said. He was right. Damn, he was right and I _hated_ it. Claire already wasn't happy with me. I wanted her to be, but now that I had refused to talk I had to keep refusing. If not it was a clear sign of weakness. 'I'm saying the same as I said last time. We can sit here for another 40 minutes without you saying anything or you could talk,' he continued after a short break. I thought about it for a while. If I was going to talk, what should I say?

_Do it for Claire, do it for your child. Do you want to end up like your father? Beating your family because you can't handle your anger anymore? That's where you're going, stupid. _No! My mind kept telling me this, but it wasn't true! I was never going to beat up Claire or the baby! _That's what you keep telling yourself. Don't you see it? Why can't you realize that you need help before it's too late? _The words were screamed at me so loud and they seemed so real and true. I took a deep breath and said 'Fine, I'll talk.'

Theodor smiled and put his pen away. No fangs. Good for him. 'Let me start by asking you what or whom you are dreaming about,' he said. I told myself to get over it and tell him the truth. Fast. All I wanted was to be better, for Claire. 'Alyssa,' I said and looked him straight in the eyes. He was shocked by my sudden well willing to tell him stuff. Or, he had to be. I wasn't one to talk. 'Alyssa… Your little sister?' he tried and looked at me. I nodded and scratched my forehead. _Talk, get better, go home, be better. For Claire. Do it for your wife._ 'Yes. She appears in my dreams. Sometimes she dies, sometimes she's alive. It's worse when she's alive, because it makes me miss her and want to hurt everybody,' I said and clenched my fists a little. 'Including Claire?' he asked. I loosened up and shook my head instantly. 'No. I've never wanted to hurt Claire. I love her,' I exclaimed. He scribbled something down at the paper in front of him. 'Do you think she's scared of your behaviour nowadays?' he questioned. I thought about it for a while. She had told me she worried for me, but didn't she always? Could she be scared of me? Like my mom had been afraid of what my dad would do to her? 'I don't know. I really don't hope she is…' I almost sobbed it, but I got myself together. There was no way I was going to start crying in a vampire's office. That would be a cliché. 'I do think she is scared of the way you behave at times. I'm not saying that your wife doesn't love you, because she clearly does. The thing is that she's worried. You're causing her stress, anxiety and worry. Is that something you want?' he queried. A part of me reacted by getting angry. Who was he to tell me how Claire felt about me? I wiped that part out the best I could before answering. 'No. That's not what I want at all, which is part of why I decided to talk. I don't want to turn out like my dad. The last thing I want is to start hurting people I care for like he did,' I surprised myself by saying this. I felt a bit of relief too. Like, finally someone knew. Someone could help me.

'I'm home!' I yelled as I slammed the door behind me. The house greeted me, for the first time in forever, and I felt a little warmed up. I couldn't help but smiling at that. 'We're in the kitchen,' Eve yelled back. My hands went to cover my eyes. 'You and whom? I don't want to go walking into you and Mike's sexy time…' I said loud enough for her to hear. 'It's me,' Claire shouted. Her voice warmed me up even more and I felt eager to see her. My lips ached to kiss her and I craved for her touch and smile. 'Well, then I'll be there in a hurry,' I mumbled to myself and jogged into the kitchen.

'How was the meeting?' Claire asked and met my eyes. I walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss. 'Fine,' I replied and placed a smile on my face. 'Ugh, can you go somewhere else and be lovebirds? I'm getting diabetes just by looking at you,' Eve said and made a choking sound. I gave her a grin and turned back to Claire to shove my tongue down her throat. Claire let out a surprised growl, but she returned my kiss. Eve just stood up and stormed out of the kitchen. 'You guys are gross! G.R.O.S.S!' she yelled.

As soon as Eve was out, I pulled back with a little laughter. Claire smiled up at me with her swollen, red lips. 'But seriously, how did the meeting go?' she asked a little more quietly. I shrugged and sat down in the chair next to her. 'I told you. It went fine,' was my reply. Annoyed she rolled her eyes at me. 'How about telling me the details?' she said and placed a hand on my shoulder. 'Oh, so you want the deets? How about I tell you what kind of tie he wore?' I said sarcastically. Her hand fell away from my shoulder and landed in her lap. 'You could've just said you didn't want to talk about it,' she whispered. 'Aw, hey, I didn't mean it like that. Come here,' I said and moved closer so I could place an arm around her and kiss her cheek. She pulled back and stood up. 'I'm tired, Shane. I'm sick and tired of the way you've been behaving lately. You refuse to talk to me, you force me to be a witness of your fighting! I don't want this. When we got married, hell, when I met you I NEVER thought it would be like this. Why do you keep hurting me and pushing me away? I'm pregnant with your baby, I try be here for you, so please… If this is the way we're going to be I'm not sure if I can deal with it,' she blurted it all out. The words hit me right in my chest and my stomach dropped. What exactly was she saying? What was the reason she suddenly got so mad? 'I-I'm sorry,' I stammered. 'That's all? You're sorry? Buck up, get yourself together! If you have any intention in keeping our relationship, you have to show me you want it,' there were tears forming in her eyes now. I wanted our marriage. More than anything in the world. Without thinking, I stood up and grabbed her waist to pull her into a hug. 'I want our relationship. I love you more than anyone. I talked with Theodor today, okay? I told him about the nightmares and everything. I'm messed up, that's no news flash, but I'm trying to be better. For myself, the baby, for you,' I said and met her eyes. Her eyes were broken. 'Then be better. I know you can. Tell me if there's some way I can help you. The last thing I want is a divorce,' a tear fell from her eye. Had she even been thinking about getting a divorce? It had never struck _my_ mind. 'Be patient and… Don't talk about leaving me,' I said and let go of her. 'I'm pregnant; hormones are practically ruling me for another 7 months. Patient is much to ask,' she smiled while wiping the tears away. 'I love you. You know I don't want to hurt you in any way,' I begged. 'I know. Love you too,' she gave me a kiss on the cheek and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me unknowing whether she was mad at me or not.


End file.
